


Runaway Mermaid

by pokeshipper4life



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pokeani - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Pokeshipping Week 2017, if misty stayed with rudy, pokeshipping - Freeform, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-04-30 02:06:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 41,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14486460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pokeshipper4life/pseuds/pokeshipper4life
Summary: Years after she decided to quit her Pokemon journey to stay with Rudy on Trovita, Misty is finally getting married to him. It's a week before their wedding when an old friend reappears unexpectedly, shaking up Misty's world as she knows it. Will she go through with the wedding or does fate have other plans for her? Pokeshipping, alternate timeline. Slight AU. Rated T.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: News Flash**

 

            The sun shone brightly over the crystal clear waters of Trovita while the red-haired beauty sat out on the veranda of her small cottage along the shore. She drank her morning coffee thoughtfully as she watched the pidgeys flap their wings overhead. Her wedding was in a week, and she couldn’t put this terrible anxiety feeling to rest. Everything about the planning had gone smoothly so far, but she couldn’t quite shake the feeling like something was going to go awry. Sighing, she did her best to relax about the situation. She stretched her legs out, the chair creaking under her.

            She knew that this was an inevitability—being asked to be someone’s wife—when she had decided to stay on Trovita and quit traveling, but she never expected it to feel so underwhelming. She wasn’t regretting her decision per se. Her fiancé treated her like a queen for one thing. She wanted to marry him. It was just that something felt _missing._

            She tucked her long red hair behind her ear before finishing the coffee. The cup touched back down on the saucer with a clang before she put it down on the wood and snatched the morning’s paper, her engagement ring glinting in the sun.

            She perused the paper without a sense of much interest. The warm sun had made her a bit sleepy. She had been considering a nap, though she knew that her fiancé would deem her lazy for it (not that she cared about that anyway), when a headline on page three caught her eye.

           

**Former Orange Island League Champion becomes Kanto League Champion**

 

She looked closer at the picture of a tall, handsome young man in a dark T-shirt and jeans. His messy black hair was mostly covered by a red baseball cap on top of his head. Perched on his shoulder was a familiar yellow mouse Pokemon, sparks flying out of his red cheeks. She took one look at his broad smile, and her heart missed a beat. Her pulse quickened slightly as she went to read further:

Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town has successfully taken on the Elite Four and defeated Champion Lance, earning him the title of Pokemon Master, making him the new Champion for Kanto and Johto. The Champion battle, which took place a week ago, was an epic battle that lasted almost two hours. Ash ended the battle by defeating Lance’s third Dragonite with Pikachu. Locals may recall this move being almost identical to when Ash defeated Champion Drake in the Orange League Challenge more than a decade ago.

The article continued on about his future plans as Champion, but she didn’t read further.

Now that wasn’t a name to which she hadn’t given much thought for some time. She had been there when he defeated Drake. He had called her when he earned his last Orange Crew badge. She had been hesitant to go as she had just left and chosen to stay with Rudy. However, Ash had begged her to come—said it wouldn’t feel right without her.

            So, she went, although Rudy hadn’t been too keen on the idea. She reminded him that she chose to stay and it was only to watch a match. She had to admit that he seemed awfully jealous for some reason, considering that she gave up traveling the world with Ash to stay with him.

            And that had been the last time that she had ever seen him. They stayed in touch, at first. She heard all about his adventures in Johto with Brock. She had been the first one he would call when they got to a new city, even before his mother or Professor Oak. This was the case even though she had fewer things to report on her end. Not much happened on their tiny island.

            Over time, the letters and phone calls grew fewer, and eventually, they had ceased all together. She couldn’t even remember the last time that they had spoken. It must have been sometime when he was in Hoenn. He had another female companion by then—April was it? Or was it June? All Misty could remember was that she had been named after a month.

            She had often wondered about what would have happened if she had chosen to stay with Ash. How would her life have differed? Would she have separated from Ash eventually or would she still be travelling with him, holding onto some meaningless hope that he would want more from her at this point?

            There had been a time when she would have followed him to the ends of the earth. However, it became apparent that he would always be that dense little kid, only thinking of Pokemon. He could never have reciprocated her feelings. Thus, when Rudy had asked her to stay on Trovita, she knew that it was time for her to move on. It had been useless to chase down an impossible dream.

            “Misty?” The voice and accompanying knock at the door shook her from her thoughts.

            “Come in!” she called, turning in her seat.

            The door opened to reveal her future sister-in-law, Mahri. She pushed back her shoulder-length brown hair as she gave Misty the once-over. She was wearing a white and red floral sundress and tan sandals, her purse already slung over her shoulder.

            “Daisy’s downstairs,” she said. “You ready to go?”

            “Uh yeah,” Misty replied. “I thought that we were going to go over last minute wedding details first.”

            “Daisy said that we could just do that on the way or later tonight. I think she’s more anxious to do some shopping.”

            “Somehow that does not surprise me.”

            “Don’t look at me,” Mahri said. “She’s your sister.”

            Misty sighed. “Yeah, well, sometimes I wonder if we really are related. Do you think you can keep her entertained for another five minutes while I get changed?”

            “Yeah, sure.”  

            “Thanks, Mahri. I owe you one.”

            “Don’t mention it.”

            The teenager left the room, closing the door behind her. Misty picked up the cup and saucer from the floor, dropping the newspaper on the chair. She placed the cup on her bedside table before moving to her closet. She grabbed a tee shirt and some jean shorts. She discarded her lounge set on the floor and hastily threw her clean clothes on. She slipped on some old flip flops before rushing downstairs.

           

            Misty came down the stairs to see Daisy and Brock sitting in her small living room with Mahri. The teen looked slightly relieved when Misty arrived. Knowing her sister, Misty couldn’t blame her. Daisy’s dress hung tightly against her figure. Her ankles were dressed with a pair of red strappy heels. Hidden at the top of her blonde hair was a pair of designer sunglasses. She gave Misty a quick glance before opening her mouth.

            “You’re going dressed like that?”

            “What’s wrong with this?” Misty asked.

            “What’s right with it?”

            Misty rolled her eyes. “Daisy we’ve gone over this. I don’t have the same style as you.” Daisy opened her mouth to protest, but Misty continued on speaking. “Hi, Brock. How are you?”

            “I’m great. Thanks again for inviting me.”

            “Why wouldn’t I invite you?”

            “Yeah, I suppose that’s true,” he teased. “Besides it’s not like you have that many friends.”

            “That’s not true,” she retorted.

            “Sure. You’ll have to introduce me to some of them then,” he said with a wink. Misty rolled her eyes.

            Though still girl-obsessed, Brock had been partially correct. Brock was the only person from back home with whom she had kept in touch, other than her sisters. She did have a few friends from Trovita, but they weren’t really that close. They might hang out for the occasional afternoon, but that was pretty much it. She spent most of her time with Rudy and Mahri and the others that worked at the gym.

            She wanted to ask Brock if he had spoken to Ash recently, but she decided to leave it. Ash Ketchum was a subject that they had dropped a long time ago. She was with Rudy and part of her suspected that Brock was too afraid to bring him up to her for some reason. Either that or he had lost touch with Ash too.

            Daisy kept tapping her foot as the two were catching up. After a few minutes, it started to become hard to ignore.

            “All right! We’ll go. Jeeze, you would think it’s your own wedding in a few days.”

            “Well if it were my wedding,” Daisy began. “I would be a bit more enthusiastic.”

            “It’s not like things would drastically change in my life. We already live together. It’s basically just a piece of paper.”

            “Well my brother is excited,” Mahri piped in.

            “Let’s just go, okay?” Misty snapped.

            “Okay, little sis. Chill. We’ll go,” Daisy said before heading to the door.

            The others followed suit. Once outside, they headed to Rudy’s boat. Misty took her place at the wheel as Mahri untied it. Once everyone was on board, she started the engine with a rumble. The boat exited the marina slowly. Once they were past the dock, Misty gave it more power and they sped off toward a neighboring island.


	2. A Challenger Appears

**Chapter Two: A Challenger Appears**

 

            Ash dropped his dirty clothes on the floor next to his bed after exiting the bathroom. He grabbed a pair of shorts, boxers, and a shirt. He threw them on, letting go of the towel that had been hanging from his hips. He bent down, picked it back up, and used it to dry his dark hair.

            He sighed, sitting down on the edge of the queen bed in his hotel room. Pikachu came running through the opening of the doorway that lead to the balcony. Ash’s oldest Pokemon jumped on the bed and gave his trainer a little nudge. Ash smiled and scratched under Pikachu’s chin.

            They had arrived late the night before, their flight to another larger island being delayed, causing them to barely catch the last ferry to this island. Thankfully, the conference wasn’t until tomorrow. Ash had been too tired for anything other than some late-night room service. Once the food had been consumed, his head had hit the pillow. He hadn’t even bothered to change his clothes. He woke up with his shirt sticking to his chest. The night had been terribly humid, thus resulting in a much needed shower.

            Ash got up to go to his terrace. He glanced down at the ground below and saw many trainers milling about with their Pokemon. They were all here for this huge conference for young and upcoming trainers. They had come from all over—no region excluded. Ash was meant to give a lecture first thing the next morning, but he still wasn’t sure what he was going to talk about. He was still new to this Champion thing. It was more involved than he had anticipated—he had just assumed that all he would be doing was battling Pokemon. He didn’t think he would have to give a _class_.

            It was strange, being back in the Orange Islands. The last time that he had been here was when he had been traveling around with Tracey…and Misty. Now there was someone who hadn’t crossed his mind in eons. It must have been years since they had spoken last. He wondered what she was up to. Trovita wasn’t that far away from here. For a moment, he considered trying to call her, but he thought better of it. It had been much too long.

            He doubted that she would even want to hear from him. She was probably happy with Rudy, a thought that perturbed him, though he couldn’t understand why. If he called—well that would be disrupting her life. She wouldn’t appreciate _that_. Not to mention, what if she didn’t even live there anymore. She could have left by now—with or without Rudy. How awkward would that be in he called for her to be gone. Yeah, contacting his old friend was out of the question.

            His stomach growled, jarring him out of the thoughts of the once forgotten red-head whom had once been a permanent fixture in his life. He had slept late that morning, exhaustion taking over his body. It had caused him to miss breakfast, an event that almost never happened.

            “Want to go grab some lunch buddy?” He said, looking at Pikachu.

            “Pika!” The Pokemon shouted before sprinting to the door, ahead of his trainer. Though it had been a decade since they first met, Pikachu never changed. His appetite was still as big as ever. Ash didn’t mind though. He deserved every ounce of ketchup that he got.

            Ash grinned at him as he grabbed his red hat on the end table closest to the door. He slipped it on, debating on if he would also need sunglasses. He paused for a moment before opening the door. No, he should be fine without them. There shouldn’t be too much press around the island. He opened the door, allowing for the two of them to exit. He proceeded to stride along the carpet, letting go of the door behind him. It closed with a barely audible click as they continued along the corridor. Pikachu jumped on his shoulder as they headed for the elevator.


	3. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or its characters.

**Chapter Three: Reunion**

            The various white paper shopping bags lay behind Daisy’s seat, flowing over to behind Misty. The three adults sat around their table, the umbrella shading them from the sun. They had spent the morning shopping for the wedding. Last minute shoes for Daisy, something blue for Misty—that sort of thing. Around noon, they had lost Mahri. She had a date with a boy from school, which was taking place at a restaurant further down the boardwalk. Misty had teased her about it, but reassured her after that she wouldn’t tell Rudy. He was still overly protective of his sister. It was understandable. Their parents had died when she was only two, leaving him to care for her as a teenager.

            The three caught up as they dined out on the balmy summer day. Most of the catching up with was done by Misty and Brock, for the most time apart had transpired between them. Misty frequently called Daisy these days, especially with all of the wedding plans, though it hadn’t done much to improve their relationship.

            Brock told Misty about his training as a Pokemon doctor, his family, and all of the women whom had rejected him recently—it was quite a lot—women, rather, not information. Misty listened intently, not even giving him a hard time about all of the girls for once. She danced around the subject of Ash, hoping that Brock would mention him first.

            She was disappointed, however. Why was she so stuck on him all of a sudden? As hard as she attempted to put him back in the drawer, it kept falling open, causing him to spill out again. It was frustrating. She had made her choice years ago. Besides, she loved Rudy, and Ash was, well, Ash.

            The conversation turned into giving Brock advice about women. Daisy was doing most of the talking, giving him pointers on what to say, how to woo them, Misty added her input—that women preferred _not_ to be harassed. Brock made a retort, but Misty didn’t hear it. It was during that moment that she saw him.

           

            Ash had found a nice little café a bit farther down the boardwalk, about a twenty minute walk from his hotel. The inside was small, but they had additional seating outside. It was on the corner in a break in the line of businesses. The table and chairs wrapped around the corner of the building.

            Ash found himself on the side facing the sea, his chair turned towards it, the top touching the black metal fence. The place was busy for a seaside cafe. It took several minutes to even get his order placed by an airy-looking waitress with bleach blonde hair wearing only a bikini bottom and cropped t-shirt. Pikachu sat contently on the table, next to him. He had a small bottle of ketchup—something that Ash had to use his clout as Champion to get.

            The weather was nice. The breeze coming off the shore made Ash breathe easy. He was glad to be out. He was excited that he was out living his dream of being a Pokemon Master, though at times he thought he might wake up and it all had been a dream. Yet, even with all of this going on, something felt missing. He couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Maybe it was the travelling. It _had_ been a while since he had gone to a new region or caught some new Pokemon. It had been even longer since he went around with friends at his side. All of the people he had met over the years had left to do their own things. Funny how it was that he tended to focus so heavily on training every moment of the day when he was on his own. It might have been partly to cope with the loneliness. Whatever the reason, he became good enough to be the next Champion.

            “Pikapi!” Pikachu shouted, tugging on Ash’s shirt.

            “What is it, Pikachu?” He looked up from his mostly eaten sandwich and saw Pikachu pointing at a group of people sitting at a table on the corner opposite to his. It was hard to tell with the other people in between them, but as far as he could see, there were a couple of girls and one guy.

            The guy was dark-skinned with even darker spiked hair. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with a colorful pattern. Ash tried to get a better look at his face, which was proving to be a bit difficult. The guy was turned toward the two girls, engrossed in their conversation. It took a moment for Ash to make out his squinty eyes.

            “Pi pikachu! Chu pi!”

            “You’re right, Pikachu. It does look like Brock!”

            If that really was Brock, then who were the other two girls? If it only had been one of them, Ash would say that he had finally gotten a date. However, it was too unbelievable that two girls would go out with him, especially at the same time.

            He looked more closely at the two women, one a blonde and the other—a red-head. The blonde wore her hair down, the waves of yellow hair cascading down past her shoulders. There was some sort of familiarity to this woman. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they had met before. He diverted his attention to the red-head. It was then that he noticed that she was also looking at him.

 

            Misty had been staring at him for a long moment before she realized that he had looked back. She averted her gaze immediately, hoping that he didn’t catch her. It had to be him. He looked just the same as he had in that newspaper photograph. She saw that Pikachu was with him, perched on the table. What was he doing _here_? He had to show up now, a week before her wedding, ready to disrupt her life. She didn’t dare look again, knowing that Ash might realize who she was.

 

            The red-head had looked at him. It was in a way that said “I think I know you.” He hadn’t met anyone with red hair like hers for some time—it was a brilliant flaming red. That type of hair didn’t come around that often. Who was she?

 

            She wanted to glance at him again. How much she had missed that dopey smile. He was still looking her way. She could sense his eyes scorching her skin. Against her better judgment, she gazed back in his direction.

 

            “Pikachupi!” Pikachu exclaimed, and Ash peeled his eyes away from the woman to look at Pikachu. It was trying to wave to her.

            Ash lifted his head back in her direction. Their eyes locked and realization crashed on him like a tsunami. Pikachu needn’t say it again. He gazed into those aqua-blue eyes and knew who she was in an instant. Misty.

            So she must have still been living on Trovita. The blonde with her was probably her eldest sister—Daisy, he concluded, finally putting it all together. What were they all doing here on this island? It had been so long since he had last talked to her. How was she doing? Should he go say hi?

            He was hesitant. It had been so long. That had been his fault. He should have called many times—should have fought harder for her. How would she have ever called him? It’s not like she knew where he was while he was off on another journey. He had been the one who let their friendship fall apart.

            He never really understood what stopped him from calling her. It just got harder to hear her talk about Rudy for some strange reason. All he could remember was hanging up the phone one day with his hands shaking, and then immediately going to do some intense training to forget about her.

            Ash stood up, the chair scraping noisily. He strode over to them, his heart hammering. What was wrong with him? It was only Misty! Pikachu jumped on his shoulder.

           

            Oh no! He was walking toward them. Was he leaving? Was he coming over to talk to them? Misty’s breath caught in her throat, her pulse quickening. She glanced to her left. It was no good. She would have had to climb over all the shopping bags and plow over Daisy to make her escape.

 

            Once he reached her table, he could see her face more clearly. She was more feminine that Ash remembered. She had grown her hair out. It now fell past her shoulders, reminding him of when she starred in that water ballet that her sisters had put on years ago. She was no longer the tomboy that he once knew. No wonder he had a hard time recognizing her.

           

            He was even better-looking up close and in person. He had grown up a _lot._ His black hair was still messy and stuck out all over the place, but it appeared better maintained somehow. He had stubble along his jaw line. And were those abs she saw faintly outlined under his tight shirt? Why was she thinking about this? What was wrong with her?

            “Hey Brocko!” He exclaimed, coming up to Brock, clapping his hand on his shoulder.

            His voice was deeper than the last time they had spoken. No more did the higher pitched voice of a boy escape his lips. He really had grown up. His new voice was warm, rich, and velvety. It had a debilitating effect on Misty.

            “Ash!” Brock said, standing up to give him a hug. “What are you doing here?”

            “Well, I’m here to speak at this conference tomorrow on the island.”

            “That’s great! Have a seat.”

            He sat down, but kept his focus on Brock. His feet did a little dance of their own under the table. Pikachu hopped from his shoulder onto the table. It gave a slight shudder when he landed.

            “So, I guess congrats are in order.”

            “Thanks Brock,” Ash said sheepishly. “But I do owe a lot to Pikachu.”

            “Wait,” the blonde said, causing the two men to turn their heads in her direction. “Ash—as in Ash Ketchum?”

            “Uh yeah…” He rolled his eyes, Was she really this dumb?

            “Like oh my gosh. I haven’t seen you since you were a like a kid. Do you like remember me?”

            “Daisy…right?”

            “You do remember me!” Daisy said. She gave a side-glance at her sister. “Of course you must remember Misty.”

           Ash and Misty stared at each other for a long moment. His heart hammered in his ears. She looked stunned. He swallowed. His cheeks felt hot. Misty brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She averted her gaze, focusing on the table. Time stood still between them.

            “It’s been a long time,” she finally said.

            “Yeah…” he trailed off. “How-how have you been?”

            “I’m good, you?”

            “Fantastic! In fact, I’m—”

            “The new Kanto Champion.”

            “How did you know?”

            “It was in the paper.”

            “All the way over here?” Ash asked incredulously. “I’m surprised that the press hasn’t been following me around since I got here then…Not that I’m complaining or anything.”

            “Is it really that bad?” Misty asked.

            Daisy and Brock looked at each other. The other two  Brock whispered something in her ear. She eyed Misty suspiciously. She faltered for a second. What did he say to her?

            “Well I’m hoping it’ll die down soon once it’s not fresh any more. Although Lance told me that it wasn’t as bad as when he became Champion.”

            “I didn’t know that it was that bad.”

            “Me either. I just wanted to be the best at Pokemon!” His eyes flashed, causing a weak smile to erupt on her face. The smile he gave in return made hers pale in comparison.

            The conversation dropped suddenly. Ash shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He didn’t know how to continue. Should he tell her about his adventures? Or the friends that he made? So much that he wanted to say.

            “Well,” Daisy said, standing. “Misty, we should be like getting going. We’ve got a lot to do still.”

            “But—”

            “Misty, we’re already behind schedule. And besides, Mahri’s probably waiting for us at the marina.”

            “Fine,” she grumbled.

            The three of them started collecting all of the paper shopping bags behind them. Ash panicked. What if he never saw her again? He didn’t want their story to finish like this.

            “Mist, wait,” he blurted out.

            The utterance of her old nickname caused her to stop cold. He had been the only one to ever call her that. Why did he have to say it now?

            “Hmm?”

            “Are you free tonight then?” He asked, the lump in his throat not going away. “I was wondering if we could get a bite to eat.”

            “Oh I don’t know Ash—”

            “Please,” he pleaded. “For old time’s sake. It would be nice to catch up with you. It’s been too long since we’ve talked.”

            _‘Who’s fault was that?’_ She wanted to say, but held her tongue. She thought about his proposition. Rudy wouldn’t like that at all. He really could be the jealous type. Not to mention, she was extremely busy with the wedding. She opened her mouth her mouth to gently decline. However, she made the mistake of looking into those warm chocolate brown eyes. She couldn’t say no to him. After all this time, he still had some pull on her.

            “I guess I can spare a couple of hours,” she said, defeated.

            “Great,” he said, grinning. “I’ll meet you in my hotel lobby at around seven okay?”

            “Uh sure,” Misty said, already regretting agreeing to this.

            “The Sleeping Shellder. It’s the big one at the end of the boardwalk—”

            “I know which one it is.”

            “Well I’ll see you then.”

            “Can’t wait…”


	4. Interventions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has been reading, reviewing, and leaving kudos on this story. I really do appreciate it.
> 
> This story oddly has a different method that I've been using with it. Normally I just type up stuff and literally post it right away with a quick look-over. But I have been trying to work on 'show don't tell' because I know as a writer, I can tend to rush my writing and things could be fleshed out a bit more. So I've been hand-writing the chapters first and revising as I type them. Then I go through it a third time later to make any additions/changes. This chapter actually went through a fourth round since I did almost double the size of it in the third round.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy.
> 
> Sarah
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters.

**Chapter Four: Interventions**

            The weather got a bit hotter as the day progressed. Ash found himself at the hotel pool with only a few hours until he had to meet Misty for their date—well whatever one would call it. It wasn’t actually a date—right? It had only been recently that Ash had even gotten his head around the concept of dating. He had been on a few dates with a handful of women before becoming Champion. Nothing stuck, unfortunately. Besides, this was Misty we were talking about. She hardly counted as a girl. She was just Misty. Yet, that in itself wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

            When they were kids, he had never thought much of her. She was that girl who kept following him around because she wanted him to replace her bike for most of their relationship. Eventually, he began to consider her a good friend, but that time had been cut short by her departure. They had kept contact through phone calls and letters for a period of time after that, but it never felt enough for Ash. He kept longing for her to be with him for some unknown reason. None of his other companions were ever able to hold a candle to her.

            “That bartender had such a nice body,” Brock commented upon his return, interrupting his thoughts. He handed Ash his drink. It was some fruity cocktail—a bit of alcohol, mixed with a ton of sugar. “If only she hadn’t turned me down.”

            “Is sex all you ever think about?” Ash said, shaking his head. He took a sip of his drink and immediately puckered his lips before swallowing it down with some difficulty.

            “Is Pokemon all you ever think about?”

            “Touche.”

            Although Daisy and Misty had gone to meet Mahri in order to return to Trovita, Brock stayed back to hang out with Ash. Since Misty was going to have to come back later that night, Brock thought it would be a good opportunity to pick up some women poolside. His disappointment came when he found out that it was mostly younger trainers staying at the hotel. Ash couldn’t help but laugh at his horrified face when he saw a huge crowd around the smaller kiddie pool and only a few senior citizens around the adult pool, by which they were now seated at a table under a giant umbrella. Pikachu was napping on a towel out in the sun a few feet away.

In spite of his shortcomings in the form of hyper-sexuality, it was nice having him around. Though Brock had been someone with which Ash had managed to keep in contact, he still hadn’t seen him in a while. They had both been too busy with their blossoming careers to find the time to really see each other. Ash had invited him to watch his championship match, but being in middle of his medical school finals, he hadn’t been able to attend.

            “Seen any hot girls since I’ve been gone?”

            “Seriously? When’s the last time you’ve gotten laid?”

           “It’s been too long my friend,” Brock sighed. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms above his head. “Too long.”

            “You know,” Ash replied seriously. “If you stopped focusing on girls so much you might be finished with your medical degree by now.”

            “Seriously Ash?”

            “Well look at me,” Ash said. “I hardly ever think about girls and look where I am—The Kanto Champion.”

            “Well now that you’re Champion,” Brock started as he took a sip of his beer. “Are you going to find a girl?”

            Brock had struck a chord with Ash. He hadn’t actually been thinking about girls up until a few hours prior. Those previous dates with those other women happened mostly because Ash thought that’s what you were supposed to do, not that he actually ever felt anything romantic for them. Damn that redhead. Damn her and her magical spell that was now taking over his body, invading his mind, making him thinking of nothing else but her. Why did she even have to leave him in the first place?

“I don’t know. It’s not something that I’ve been thinking about. I’ve been so focused on Pokemon that I’ve had no time for anything else,” he replied a bit sheepishly.

            “Well, I’m sure that there are many gorgeous girls from which to choose.”

            Ash smiled. “Only after you’ve had a crack at them first, right?”

            “Ah you caught me.”

            “Speaking of pretty girls,” Ash started. Now that they were on the subject of women, it would be a good time to bring up Misty. He hesitated though. What if he got the wrong idea?

            “Yeah?” Brock raised an eyebrow.

            Ash swallowed. Should he really say? It’s not like he actually wanted to date Misty. That would be crazy. He was just having a hard time getting her out of his mind. It begged the question: why was he having these thoughts anyway? She was a friend, nothing more.

            “Since when did Misty look—well—like _that_?”

            “What do you mean?” Brock asked, although he had a feeling he knew what Ash was getting at. It was hard not to notice how Misty had grown up, becoming more comfortable in her own skin in the process.

            “I mean she used to be such a tomboy when we were kids. Since when did she start looking like a girl?” He hesitated before finishing. “…and a pretty one at that.”

            Brock stared at him, gob smacked. Was this the moment when Ash finally fell for a woman? It only took over a decade for him to finally start noticing the opposite sex, even with Brock’s failed attempts at influencing him. Though, Brock had realized something one day when they were travelling around Kanto—Ash, Misty, and him.

            The thought of the two of them together hit him like lightning one day while he watched them having an argument while cooking their dinner. They had been fighting without actually fighting. It was more like they were trying to test each other to see what each one would say. It was then that he knew that there was something there—something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He felt that there had been this other-worldly connection between them. Maybe not when he first met them, but eventually, once the fights had subsided for the most part, they grew close rather quickly. It was as though the universe wanted them to be together. But, being stubborn, the two of them could not see that.

It was frustrating watching two people who could not be more right for each other with other people. He had hoped that Misty might come back to her senses and come home on one of those occasions that Ash had finished a league, and they could have started something. He would have even given Ash the push that he needed. However, the years went by, and that never happened. After Misty called Brock to say that Rudy had proposed, he resigned to the fact that that ship probably sailed away long ago. Yet, here Ash was, showing up right before her wedding with those feelings stirring within him. Maybe it wasn’t too late for them after all?

            “Did you just say—”

            “Yeah, well, I mean—”

            He had to tell him. He had a right to know. He knew that Misty would kill him, but Ash needed to know if he was ever going to do anything about it. She may not think this way now, but years from now she would thank him for saving her from the unfortunate fate of Rudy.

“You know that she’s getting married on Saturday right?”

            Ash choked on his drink. “She what?” he managed to sputter.

            “Yeah,” Brock replied. “Why do you think Daisy and I are here? Her other two sisters are arriving the day after tomorrow.”

            “I can’t believe it,” Ash muttered, his insides suddenly feeling like ice.

            “Ash, why do you think she stayed here all of those years ago? Rudy basically told her he wanted her to stay forever. I’m a little surprised that they didn’t get married sooner.”

            Ash made no reply, lost in his conflicting emotions. She was getting married—to Rudy of all people! How could this happen? He knew that he should have been happy for her. She was his friend after all. However, for some unexplainable reason, he couldn’t. His words seemed to be stuck in his throat.

            “Ash, you okay?”

            Ash picked his head up from his drink to see Brock looking at him intently. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

            “You sure?”

            “Yeah,” he said, finishing off his drink in one gulp. He coughed a few times before continuing. “It just threw me off a little. I mean we’re still a bit young for that stuff.”

            Brock raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t your parents get married as soon as they were legally old enough?”

            “Well they only had to wait for my mom—hey! This is beside the point!”

            “I’m just saying that you shouldn’t be so judgmental of Misty, considering that you were a product of a young marriage.”

            “Okay, you’ve made your point,” he said as he placed the empty glass on the round plastic table in between them.

            “Ash?”

            “Yeah?”

            “Just make sure you don’t mention it to her tonight. I’m not sure if Misty would like that I told you.”

            “Yeah, sure.”

            Tonight! That’s right. He put his head in his hands, groaning. He had almost forgotten. Now what was he going to do about that?

 

            “Misty, what do you think you’re doing?”

            Daisy was standing behind the cream couch in Misty and Rudy’s cottage by the sea. She didn’t hear her, blue headphones stuck inside her ears, a chocolate covered ice cream in one hand as the other flipped the page of the novel that was sprawled open across her lap. Daisy put both hands on the back of the couch leaned over her sister, calling once more. After the second time, she sighed and pulled out the right ear bud.

            “Daisy, what gives?” Misty snapped.

            “What are you doing?”

            “Eating.”

            “No,” she said through gritted teeth. “About Ash.”

            “Oh yeah—that. It’s no big deal.”

            “No big deal?” Daisy exclaimed rounding the couch to give Misty the biggest death glare. “You’re getting married on Saturday. And here you are basically going on a date with your childhood crush.”

            “Relax, Daisy,” Misty said, continuing to eat her ice cream. She flipped to the next page. “That was a long time ago. I made my choice back then. It’s just dinner with an old friend.”

            “When Rudy finds out, he—”

            “He’s not going to find out. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

            “How are you going to sneak off the island without him noticing?”

            She hadn’t thought about that fact. How was she going to run off and take his boat for a few hours without him noticing? Sure she could mention going off by herself to him, but he would still ask questions. Not to mention, everyone on the island knew who she was, and even if she managed to sneak away from Rudy, what if someone else saw her and ratted her out? How was she going to pull this off?

            “You will cover for me?” Misty asked, hoping that this would be the answer. She stuck a beat-up post-it in between the pages before closing the book and gazed at her sister expectantly.

            “Misty—”

            “Please, Daisy,” Misty replied with pleading eyes. “I would really owe you one.”

            “Oh fine,” Daisy said, throwing her hands up in the air. “But don’t say I never—”

            “Thanks Daisy!” Misty shouted as she dropped the book on the sofa, sprung up, and sprinted up the stairs. She stopped half-way up, her right hand on the rail to turn her head toward her sister. “I knew I could count on you. Just distract him with wedding details. I’m sure that’ll take hours.”

 

            Misty stared at herself in the mirror with five minutes left before she had to leave. She looked good but not _too_ good. She didn’t want that boy to get the wrong idea—not that she expected to have unholy thoughts about her. She doubted that he had even given her one thought over the past few years once he stopped calling. She sighed. Why was she getting her hopes up? The better question was why had her heart skipped at the thought of him having those kinds of thoughts about her.

            Daisy had been good on her word. She had left with Rudy as Misty was getting out of the shower with the proposition of a sister-brother dinner date. She felt a twinge of guilt. Poor Rudy. Her sister was going to drive him mad. The only up-side was that it wasn’t the three of them, though Daisy was enough of a handful on her own.

            Misty fiddled with her engagement ring. Should she wear it to the dinner? Ash hadn’t noticed it in their brief meeting that afternoon, but spending hours together in close quarters might cause him to see it and ask questions. She was still on the fence about telling him that she was getting married. Why was it so hard to tell him? She had no idea what was wrong with her as she stood there fighting with herself, her insides twisting in an unending knot. With a final resolve, she slipped off her engagement ring, placing it back inside the box. Before she could change her mind, she snatched her purse and headed out the door.


	5. La Boniche

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I changed the rating to M just as a precautionary measure.
> 
> Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. It's longer than the others so far. A little side note, La Boniche was an actual local restaurant to me up until a few years ago when it went out of business. They had changed the traffic flow in downtown in the next city over where it was located, and a lot of businesses were hurt by it. It was a bit expensive, but not as exclusive as I make it to be in the story. I really did love having duck whenever I went. It was always so good.
> 
> Sarah
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters.

Chapter Five: La Boniche

            Ash paced around the hotel lobby later that night. The receptionist kept eyeing him suspiciously, but he ignored her. He was wearing a casual marina-blue short-sleeved buttoned shirt with khaki shorts. He did have a suit upstairs in his closet, but that would have been too much. He had wanted to look nice, but not too nice. There was this newly found desire to impress her, and it was perplexing him to no end.

            _‘She was getting married,’_ his brain kept going over and over again—like a record player with a broken needle skipping over the same grooves of the vinyl. Brock had left hours ago for the clubs, determined to find some girl to hook up with before the night was through. Ash wished that he had his determination when it came to women. So far, he only had that with Pokemon. He continued to walk back and forth in front of the counter. In this moment, Ash would have rather been faced with rampaging Gyarados.

            His thoughts had been consisting of ‘don’t panic’ and ‘she’s getting married’ when she came through the lobby doors. His head turned slowly, and he felt his heart leap in his chest when her countenance came into his vision fully. She was wearing her hair down like she had before. It flowed down past her shoulders, ending at the small of her back. She was wearing a strapless periwinkle dress that went down to her mid-thigh and open-toed kitten heels to match. He hadn’t expected her to look this nice. He felt a bit stupid for trying to be so casual.

            He could barely hear her greet him over the hammering of his heart. He took several deep breaths, attempting to get a grip. She was talking, but it was as if his life were stuck on ‘mute.’ After a few moments of her chatter, she paused, realization that her words were not reaching him settling in. She waved her hand in front of his face.

            “Ash, are you even listening to me?”

            “Huh?”

            She sighed. “Some things never change.”

            “What’s that supposed to mean?”

            “Nothing,” she replied as they walked out of the lobby and through the automatic doors. It was starting to get dark outside. “It’s just that you’re in your own little world. Thinking about all the Pokemon you want to catch before you have to go home?”

            “No,” he said as the balmy summer air hit his face. He started walking in the direction of the restaurant he had planned on taking her. She followed close to him, half jogging in order to keep up with his longer legs.

            “Well, what does go on in that brain of yours, Ketchum?” she asked with a smile, linking her arm with his. He almost forgot to keep breathing when she did.

            _‘You,’_ he wanted to say. Why did she have to do that to him? Tempt him—without meaning to—when she was not available nonetheless. It felt like his brain was about to explode, but all he could think about was how desperately he wanted to grab her by the shoulders and kiss her. Though, it occurred to him more than once that she probably didn’t even want that, being engaged and all—so he refrained.

            “Believe it or not, Miss Waterflower, I do think of more than just Pokemon.”

            “Oh?” Her heart gave a jolt. Could he…? No! Impossible! But maybe…

            “Well, there’s my mom and stuff…” he replied sheepishly. _‘You’re such an idiot.’_

            “Of course.” See? She should have known better. What was wrong with her? This was _Ash_ they were talking about here. He wouldn’t recognize the opposite sex even if she dressed up in a giant Dragonair costume. Why was she having these thoughts anyway? She was supposed to be getting married!

            The rest of the walk to the restaurant was spent mostly in silence on Ash’s part. Misty did most of the talking, pointing out places on the island that were new or her favorite to visit. He drank in every bit of her—the way she walked, the way she fiddled with her hair while she talked, her laugh—everything. He was starting to get drunk on her, pushing away the thought that it was only for this one night.

            Misty couldn’t help chatting incessantly. It was the one thing that somewhat alleviated the knot in her stomach. What if Rudy found out about her “date?” Knowing Rudy’s feelings about Ash, maybe she should have declined his offer in the first place.

            “Well, here we are,” said Ash, speaking for the first time in several minutes. “La Boniche.”

           They were standing outside of a small black building with bay windows on either side of the heavy oak door. A single pane of glass sat inside of it, nestled adjacent to the handle. La Boniche was a French provincial restaurant tucked away in the busy shopping district. It was quite exclusive. Misty had only been there once in her life—it had been the place that Rudy proposed to her.

            “Ash, we’re eating _here_?”

            “Yeah,” he said, frowning. “Do you not like French food anymore?”

            “No, that’s not it,” she replied. Was he that dense?

            “Then, what’s the issue?”

            “Well, other than the fact that this place has like a six-month waiting list?”

            “Oh, does it?” Ash said as he held the door open for her.

            She stared back at him, one of her eyebrows raised. She hesitated for a moment before walking into the dimly-lit entryway. It was virtually empty except for the posh-looking hostess standing in front of an ornate walnut podium. No one else was there because there was no such thing as waiting for a seat at La Boniche. What was Ash thinking?

            The hostess narrowed her eyes at Misty. “Can I help you?” she said in an exasperated tone.

            “Ash Ketchum,” Ash said, coming up behind Misty. “I called this afternoon.”

            Her expression was skeptical, but she shuffled some of the papers on the podium until she pulled out a magenta sticky note. She scrutinized over it before plastering the fakest smile Misty had ever seen.

            “Right this way, Mr. Ketchum,” she said, walking through the doorway to the dining room, not bothering to grab any of the menus sitting in the holder on the podium.

            The two followed her through the packed dining room. Couples in fancy clothes chatted over the candlelit tables while they ate their five-star meals. The hostess kept walking until she got to a door that said “Employés Seulement.”

            She led them through to the kitchen. The two immediately felt the sweat begin to form on their foreheads as they followed her into a corner with a small table, covered by a white tablecloth. Sitting in the center as a sea glass vase, holding a single red rose. Surrounding it were two formal table settings with more forks than with which Ash knew what to do.

            “A place at the chef’s table like you requested,” she said over the shouting voices right next to them.

            “Thank you,” Ash said as she left. Ash pulled out the chair and waited for Misty to sit before he slid into the booth on the other side. He was about to speak when he was interrupted.

            “Ash!” An older and boisterous man said as he approached them. He had graying facial hair and was wearing a white chef’s jacket. “It’s been too long.”

            “I know. I know,” Ash replied. “I’ve been really busy.”

            “I saw it in the paper! Champion, eh? That’s impressive, no?”

            “I guess, but I’m still the same guy.”

            “But of course.”

            “Hey thanks for doing me this favor.”

            “It’s no problem. I mean we need to make the evening enjoyable for you date, no?”

            Misty was about to speak, but Ash beat her to it. “Oh no, Rene. It’s not like that. She’s just an old friend from when I was a kid.”

            “I see,” he said.

            “I hope that’s not a problem.”

            “Of course not. Although,” he added before leaving. “Sometimes childhood friends make the lovers.”

            He left without another word. Ash cleared his throat, hoping that she wouldn’t pay attention to the blush that had begun to creep upon his face. Misty shifted uneasily in her seat. The only sound that transpired was that of Ash’s beating heart. It was so loud that he was sure that she could hear it.

            The appetizer course had come and gone, and yet all that remained was that silence between them and the noise of the kitchen. It continued like that for some time. After the sous chef had come to take their plates away before the next course, Misty finally opened her mouth.

            “So,” she said. She took a sip of her giant glass of pinot noir. “You know the chef here?”

            “Uh yeah,” he replied. He grabbed his own glass, and started downing it. He took the bottle and poured himself another glass. One of the Misty’s eyebrows rose. “We met back after I had won my badge from Trovita. Tracey and I helped him out of a jam with a bunch of wild Beedrills terrorizing his customers.”

            “Oh wow.”

            “Yeah, he says that he owes me his business, but I don’t know about _that._ ”

            She hadn’t heard that story yet. She felt a twinge of sadness following the end of his tale. She wondered why he had never told her that story. Before they had lost touch, he had pretty much been in the habit of telling her everything. It wasn’t that she had missed out on that adventure (On the contrary. She was relieved. Beedrill—no thank you!). She realized that she had really missed him.

            The main courses came while Misty had been contemplating her life up until that point. She silently cursed at Ash for coming back into the picture now of all times. She couldn’t help but stare at his dopey smile as she took a bite of his filet mignon off of his plate. It was good, but her duck a l’orange was amazing. Her cheeks grew red when their hands brushed. _‘Married—you’re getting married,’_ she reminded herself.

            “So, how have you been?” Ash finally asked.

            Married. She was getting married. He wanted her to come out and say it. It didn’t seem real until then. She needed to say it.

            “Fine. Everything’s been fine.”

            Should she tell him? She shouldn’t have been there even. Rudy would be upset if he knew what she was doing. What did it matter though? The dinner was innocent—two old childhood friends catching up. Still, he could be so jealous sometimes, especially when it came to Ash, she recalled. Hadn’t it been enough that she had chosen to stay on Trovita? Wasn’t he satisfied with her saying yes?

            “Everything going well with—” Ash swallowed. “Rudy?”

            He would force it out of her, even if it killed him. Though, he knew that she had every right to refuse. He hadn’t kept in touch with her. It wouldn’t be fair to expect her to share anything with him. He could only hope to be let back into her life in some way.

            “Things are good,” she said with a smile. She took a deep breath before continuing. Might as well get it out there. “Actually, Rudy and I are getting married on Saturday.”

            There it was. She was really getting married—to Rudy. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Brock. It was so surreal. Hearing her say it didn’t make anything better. What was wrong with him? She was his friend. He should have been happy for her. So…why wasn’t he?

            “That’s great,” Ash said with a forced smile, trying to act pleasantly surprised.

            Something was off about him. Misty chewed on her tongue. She expected some sort of shock or surprise, but there was nothing of that sort at all. Whatever it was that Ash was trying to convey, she could see right through it.

            “You already knew, didn’t you?”

            “No, Mist I—”

            “Oh save it, Ash. You’re still a terrible liar.”

            “All right, fine,” he sighed. “Yeah, I already knew about it.”

            Her expression fell. A crease formed between her eyebrows. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

            “Brock told me not to!”

            “He told you?”

            “Yeah,” he replied, scratching the back of his head. “He mentioned it while we were catching up this afternoon. He said that’s why he was here—because he was invited to your wedding…It would have been nice to hear it from you first, you know.”

            His words cut Misty a bit. It wasn’t her fault that they had lost touch with each other. He was the one who lived like a nomad. Her number hadn’t changed in the decade of living on this island. It was much easier for him to contact her than the other way around.

            The thought had crossed her mind—sending him an invitation. It would have been simple enough. Mailing it to his home in Pallet Town would have at least given it a chance of reaching him in time. She was sure that his mother would have mentioned it the next time that he had called. The thing that had stopped her was Rudy. Growing up, any mention of Ash would produce the foulest expression upon his face. She hadn’t even dared to bring up his name when they going over the guest list.

            “I’m not the one who stopped calling,” she said stiffly.

            “I know,” Ash said softly.

            There was something in his expression that got to Misty. Her heart gave a lurch. It had not done that in many years—not since she had been a young girl traveling with a brash raven-haired boy.

            “I shouldn’t have let our friendship go by the waist sides.”

            “Then why did you?”

            “I honestly don’t know. I mean—I don’t know—”

            “What is it, Ash? You can tell me.”

            But he couldn’t tell her. How could he tell her that he could no longer stand it with Rudy in the picture? He couldn’t reveal that her fiancé got under his skin when they were younger. That would mean admitting to—well he still wasn’t sure what that was, but it couldn’t be good, could it?

            “I was just so busy, that’s all,” he lied.

            _‘You idiot,’_ he said to himself. _‘You could have at least told her about the few attempts you made to call her.’_

Even though he hated this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach while doing it, the last few times he had attempted to call her—sometime during his stint in the Sinnoh League—Rudy had always been the one to answer, and he had always given some excuse about Misty being busy with this smug look on his face. Without giving Ash a chance to reply, he would end the call. He couldn’t know for sure, but Ash could have sworn that he was purposely heading Misty off to answer her calls. After about four or five times of this frustrating experience, he gave up for good. He needed to focus on his dream and lose all of the troublesome distractions.

             “Uh well, it looks like you were, Mr. Pokemon Master.”

            “Oh, do you have to call me that?”

            She smirked at him. “Well, it’s true now, isn’t it?”

            “I guess,” he replied. “It still doesn’t feel real to me.”

            “How come?” Misty grabbed the half-empty wine bottle and poured herself another glass. She lifted her eyes from watching the red liquid flow down the side of the crystal.

            Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was the food. Whatever it was, Misty was experiencing euphoria that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Having Ash in front of her seemed right for some reason. Talking to him came so effortlessly. She could just go with the flow and not worry about what to say next to keep the conversation going.

            When she had finished pouring the wine, Ash reached out for it, his fingers resting over hers. Misty felt a jolt of electricity through her fingers and up her arm.  Her hand recoiled. Ash made no notice of this as he proceeded to pour the remaining contents of the emerald green bottle into his own glass.

            “A few years ago, I almost gave up on Pokemon,” Ash admitted before taking a sip of his wine. The taste was a bit strong to his liking, but he needed it to calm his nerves around the woman in front of him. Did she have to go around breaking hearts wherever she went?

            Misty choked on her drink. “W-what?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Why?”

            He sat his glass down on the white linen back in the center of the red ring that had formed over the course of the evening. He thought to order another bottle. If he had to sit here with the knowledge that his date was a betrothed woman, he might as well get wasted. He got a line cook’s attention and pointed to the empty bottle. The cook rolled his eyes, but walked away and came back with a bottle of pinot noir and a corkscrew. He popped open the cork and replaced the empty bottle in the ice bucket. Ash muttered his thanks as the cook sauntered back to whatever he had been doing. Ash grabbed the new bottle and topped off his glass. He pressed it up to his lips and took a big gulp before setting it back down.

            “Well…” he began. “I think that at some point it felt like it was something that would always be unobtainable. So I thought, ‘what’s the point?’ If I was never going to make it, then what was I doing?”

            “But you did keep going,” Misty said. “And look what happened.”

            “I guess it was good that I didn’t quit then,” Ash said with a sheepish grin.

            “What made you continue?”

            “Umm,” he paused for a moment, debating. Should he tell her?

            “Oh c’mon,” she said. “You can tell me.”

            “Well,” he took a breath. “To be honest, I thought about you.”

            “About me?” Her heart skipped a beat.

            “Yeah,” he said, the ghost of a smile present. “Just that you would have kicked my ass if you knew that I was thinking about quitting. So that’s probably what kept me going at least until it seemed that I would actually be getting somewhere with it.”

            “Yeah, I would have,” she replied. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

            “I should have called.”

            “You should have,” she said, her voice steady. “But there’s nothing to be done about that now.”

            She went for the bottle, a mixture of emotions swirling around. She poured herself another glass, the buzz of her previous one still within her. It felt so easy with him. It took no effort to keep a smile on her face. Why did she always feel so carefree around him? Being with Rudy, by contrast, felt so serious. It was romantic at times, but others it was a bit of a chore. Rudy kept her up on this pedestal from which she was never allowed to come down. With Ash, she could feel her wings beginning to spread so she could fly.

            Their dessert course had arrived. Two perfectly sized chocolate soufflés sat in front of them. Each white ramekin rested upon a small dessert plate, garnished with whipped cream and raspberry coulis. Misty dug her spoon into the chocolate goodness and put it into her mouth. She closed her eyes and gave a soft moan. It was so good!

            She took her time with it, savoring each bite. After what was only her third tiny scoop, she glanced across the table to see Ash was almost done with his. She paused as he shoveled his over-flowing spoon into his mouth.

            “You know you might enjoy it more if you slowed down.”

            “But it’s so good.” His eyes lit up, and she couldn’t help but beam at him.

            “But it would be better if you savored your food.”

            Ash shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat at his current pace. Misty sighed and shook her head. She placed her spoon down on the plate and picked up her glass and took a big gulp of her wine. The thought of Rudy was progressively fading away, leaving her alone in the candlelight with the beautiful boy in front of her. For a moment, she forgot all about the wedding.

            She ate the rest of her soufflé in silence. Was she doing the right thing sitting here with Ash? It was starting to feel like a date to her—something that was not supposed to happen. They were just old friends. She was getting married.

            “Are you ready to go?” Ash asked, shaking her from her thoughts.

            She gazed down at her empty ramekin. “Uh sure.”

            “Unless you want to order another bottle of wine.”

            “No, no. We should be going. It’s getting late. I have to get back to Trovita.”

            They left some money for a tip, thanked the chef for the delicious meal, and meandered through the dining room and into the balmy air outside. The warm breeze was a bit sobering, but not enough. Misty staggered a little, losing her balance and nearly falling. Ash caught her with one of his arms.

            “Whoa,” he said, steadying her. “You sure that you’re okay to drive a boat?”

            “I need to get back though.” She bit her lip. Rudy was going to kill her if she didn’t show up that night.

            “Not like this though,” he said latching onto her arm. “I can’t let you go. You could get hurt.”

            “But—”

            “No,” he said firmly. “We can figure something out at the hotel. Maybe they’ll have an extra room or something. C’mon.”

            He held onto her arm as they moved away from the restaurant. If Rudy found out about this, Misty was a dead woman walking. She tried to put that thought behind her as she let Ash lead her down the boardwalk toward The Sleeping Shellder.

           

            “That should do it,” Ash said as he dropped one of the pillows from the bed onto a freshly unfolded cot. A single pink blanket with a satin edge covered the starchy white sheets.

            “Are you sure that you don’t want to sleep in the bed?” Misty’s voice came from the bathroom. “Don’t you have a lecture tomorrow?”

            “Don’t worry. It’s fine,” Ash called back. “It’s in the afternoon anyway.”

            When they had gotten back at the hotel, they were informed that there were no other rooms available. There wasn’t even a room that Ash could have swapped with two queens instead of the large king that lay before him. The solution was to squeeze a cot in the room next to the bed. Misty hadn’t been too keen on the idea at first, even if Ash elected to take the cot. What if something happened? She quickly shook the thought from her head. What could happen anyway? Even if she were single, Ash would never think of her in that way anyway.

            “Sorry I don’t have anything better for you to wear.”

            “It’s fine,” Misty said as she emerged from the bathroom wearing a black t-shirt that hung off one shoulder and shorts that were tied on the side with a hair elastic. “What are we going to do if Brock eventually shows up?”

            “He can sleep on the floor.”

            “Pika!” a voice piped in.

            The two looked over to see Pikachu sitting on the bed. His ears perked up at the sight of Misty. He bounded to the end where they stood.

            “Well, look who’s finally up,” Ash commented.

            “Hey there, Pikachu,” Misty said as she scratched under his chin.

            “Cha!” the electric rodent squealed in delight.

            “Did you want something?” Ash asked as he picked up the phone. “I’m going to order some room service.”

            “You’re _still_ hungry?” she asked.

            “A little,” he admitted, shrugging. “Anything for the lady?”

            She grinned. “Maybe a bottle of champagne.”

            “Coming right up.”

 


	6. Freshly Brewed Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters.

 

          Ash woke with a start the next morning. He was sprawled across the bed diagonally, his feet dangling off of one corner. He groaned softly, his body stiff, his head pounding. The light coming from the window was hitting him square in the face. He shifted his body, but it was no use. He would have to get up to shut the blinds. He opened his eyes and jumped at the sight of a dark face hovering over him. He jolted upright, the room spinning.

            “Looks like you had a good night then,” Brock said.

            Ash turned his head to see Misty’s sleeping form next to him. She was under the covers, the duvet pulled up to her shoulders. She gave a soft snore and shifted on her pillow, tucking her arm underneath. Her breathing continued its slow, steady pace. Pikachu was by her feet, also oblivious to the world.

            “How long have you been standing there?” Ash hissed, acutely aware of the sleeping woman next to him.

            “About five minutes.”

            “Great,” Ash muttered as he struggled to lift his body off of the bed. Everything ached. Perhaps it hadn’t been the greatest idea to drink so much the night before his lecture. How could he talk to a bunch of young trainers when he felt more like crawling in a hole and dying instead? He silently cursed at Misty. She was a bad influence on him. He should have refused the champagne. What seemed like a good idea at the time was, in hindsight, not so much.

            Ash moved over to the other side of the small room and toward the terrace. He slid the door open and gestured over to Brock. Brock followed suit, and they went out to the balcony, which barely fit the two of them. Ash carefully slid the door tightly closed. He peered through the glass. Misty stirred, but as far as he could tell, she remained asleep.

            “So,” Brock said, causing Ash to jump. “What happened last night?”

            “Nothing.”

            “Ash…”

            “Nothing happened!” Ash shouted, indignant.

            “Okay, okay,” Brock said, putting his hands up in front of his chest, palms facing Ash. “I trust you.”

            “Thanks,” Ash sighed. “We went to dinner, and Misty had a bit too much wine. I didn’t want her to drive back when she wasn’t sober. She could barely walk.”

            “That’s understandable.”

            “And we _tried_ to find a room for her, but the hotel was booked up. So, in the end, we got a cot for me to sleep on, and she would have the bed.”

            “Then, how come you ended up on the bed with her?”

            “ _That_ I don’t remember….”

            “Uh huh.”

            “Well…we got back, and I ordered room service because I was still a bit hungry. She wanted some champagne since she wasn’t going anywhere, and so we drank some more….I don’t remember very well what happened before I fell asleep.”

            Brock gripped the rail and leaned forward. These two were going to be the death of him. “So you’re telling me that it’s possible that you don’t remember if you two—”

            “Well…”

            “Ash!”

            “What?”

            “She’s getting married in five days!”

            “I know!” Ash snapped. He stopped to peer back into the room. Misty was still asleep, her breathing steady. “Listen. I would _never_ do something like that with her while she was that drunk. How could you even think that I would take advantage of her like that?”

            “Okay. Okay,” Brock replied. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to suggest—”

            “It’s fine,” Ash snapped.

            This whole situation was beyond frustrating. Why did he have to run into her? Why did he have to invite her to dinner? They could have lived their separate lives without each other in peace. Now that she was back, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even have the time to work through his emotions. Was he having feelings for her? He knew that he had this uncontrollable desire to be around her. His heart went out of control every time he looked at her. What was this feeling? He couldn’t even concentrate on figuring out what it even meant because he was stuck on the fact that she would be a married woman in less than a week. He was running out of time.

            He sighed and turned to his oldest friend with pleading eyes. “Brock what do I do?”

 

            Misty woke, gasping for breath, flailing her arms. She sat up suddenly, trying to find something tangible in her surroundings. She was in a bed, only it wasn’t her own. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She saw Pikachu curled up on the end of the bed, and the previous night’s events came flooding back to her.

            She groaned, flopped back down on the bed, and flung a pillow over her face. She should _not_ have had as much to drink as she had. Her head pounded, the sunlight filtering in through the windows, intensifying her problem. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had such a bad hangover, not even that one time she and some of the island girls decided to drink a whole case of wine at a campfire down by the river. Even after that, she felt fine. Now, all she wanted was an aspirin.

            Hearing voices coming from the terrace, she took the pillow off of her face. She sat up once more, the room spinning. With considerable effort, she swung her legs over the edge of the mattress. Her stomach gave a lurch as she leaned over and peaked around the corner. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to see the inside of the bathroom any time soon. She saw that Ash and Brock were outside.

She stood, pausing for the vertigo to pass and stumbled over to the sliding door. They were talking in hushed voices, so she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She strained her ear against the glass door, but it was no use. She couldn’t understand a word, but for whatever reason they were conversing, it seemed intense for some reason.

            “I don’t think there’s much you can do,” she heard Brock say as she slid the door open. He stopped short of his next sentence at the sound of the door squeaking against its track. The two men turned in her direction. Neither of them said anything at first. Misty got the impression that she walked in on part of a conversation that she wasn’t supposed to hear.

            “Hey, Misty,” Brock said as she moved the door back to closed. She pursed her lips before brushing her bangs out of her eyes. Ash gave her a sheepish grin, which she trepidatiously returned.

            “How are you feeling?” Ash asked.

            “Like I got trampled by a heard of Tauros.”

            “Yeah, I know how that feels.”

            Misty suppressed a giggle. He did know that feeling, literally. She remembered. He had a herd of about thirty of them back at Professor Oak’s lab. At least as far a she knew he still had them. She had a sudden desire to ask about them, but thought better of it. Ash would have been disappointed if he knew that there was a missed opportunity to discuss Pokemon. There were other matters at hand, however, like what the hell happened last night.

            “Yeah, well, do you remember what happened last night after we got here?”

            “Uhh…” He shifted uncomfortably. “Not every little detail….”

            “Well what _do_ you remember?”

            “We drank and talked, and as far as I know, we both passed out at some point.”

            “And that’s it?” She pressed. There had to be more to it, right?

            “Why?” He said, raising an eyebrow. “What do you think happened?”

            “Nothing,” she replied, her voice shifting up an octave.

            Her heart was hammering for some reason. She could feel it beating against her chest, the sound of blood pumping coursing through her ears. What was the matter with her? Why was she getting all flustered over the thought of kissing Ash? She must be going crazy. Yet, if she were going mental, she’d hate to think what the thought of anything more than a kiss would do to her.

            “Earth to Misty,” Ash said, waving his hand in front of her face.

            “Huh?” she said, snapping back to reality.

            “We were just asking you what we were doing for breakfast.”

            “Breakfast?”

            “Yeah, you know,” Ash said. “That thing you have after sleeping. It usually involves pancakes and stuff.”

            “I know what it is,” she replied, mentally face-palming.

            “Well then,” Ash retorted. “You should have no problem telling us what you want to do for it then.”

            “Uhh…I need to get back to Trovita…like yesterday.”

            “Can’t do anything about that now,” Ash said, linking arms with her. “So, you might as well stay and get some breakfast with us.”

            “But—”

“Oh c’mon Misty. What’s the big deal?”

What could she do? Rudy was going to be furious. He probably already was, and prolonging her return would make her situation worse. Even if Daisy kept her word, he would notice her absence. It would make him worry. She hated to think about how much she might be hurting him at the moment. She loved him, right? Although Trovita could be boring at times, she loved Rudy, so that made it worth it in the end. How could she keep doing this to him?

            “I really do need to get back. Rudy—”

She stopped short with one look at those chocolate brown eyes. They penetrated her, bringing her to her knees. Why was it that they could always cause her to succumb to his wishes? Was it her Achilles heel, bringing all of Troy down along with her heart?

“What about him?” Ash asked.

“Nevermind,” she said. Damn, he was going to win, _again_. “Fine. I will go to breakfast with you two.”

“Yay!” Ash exclaimed, his arm still locked to Misty’s. He began to spin the two of them around in a circle. Misty almost tripped at first, stumbling forward. After a few spins, she put her free hand over her mouth. Spinning was an awful idea when hung-over. Ash caught a glimpse of her body language out of the corner of his eye. Coming to his senses, he halted his movements abruptly, catching Misty by the shoulder before she tipped backwards.

“Sorry, Mist,” he said. “Guess I got carried away there.”

“You think?” she snapped before having to choke back down some bile. How disgusting.

“Glad you think it’s funny,” Misty grumbled.

“Oh come on, Misty,” Brock said. He came between the two of them, wrapping his arms around each of their shoulders. “I’m sure that a bit of food in you will make you feel better.”

“Or make her throw up!”

“Shut it, Ash.”

 

After Ash changed and Misty threw on her old clothes from the previous night, the three of them headed downstairs to the hotel lobby. Pikachu joined them, perched on Ash’s shoulder. He was half-asleep, being woken up minutes before, but excited by the prospect of ketchup. Ash still had that bad habit of feeling Pikachu’s addiction. That hadn’t changed one bit.

The three chatted in the elevator on the way down. Misty plucked Pikachu off of Ash’s shoulder, wrapping him in her arms. He let out a sigh of contentment, enjoying having Misty around again. She had missed Pikachu. She had a few of her own Pokemon for company, but it wasn’t the same. Something about having Pikachu around had such an air of nostalgia about it. It made her long for the days that she had her little Togepi. It had evolved years ago, and though she still had it, the Pokemon spent most of its time in its ball. She should really let Togetic out once she got back. It would be nice to spend time with her Pokemon. With the wedding, she had almost completely forgotten them.

Brock and Misty had to wait for Ash at the entrance for another at the entrance for a little bit before they could all leave. A mob of fans had bombarded Ash as the trio had hit the lobby. The other two had to stand there awkwardly as Ash reluctantly signed autographs. After five minutes or so, Misty, fed up, grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the newly-formed crowd. It was a struggle. They did not want to let him go.

“Sorry about that,” Ash said to a miffed Misty as they left the building.

“I guess that’s the price of fame, huh?”

“Oh shut up.”

They traversed to a place with a huge breakfast buffet a few blocks over from Ash’s hotel. Of course he would know about this place, Misty mused. The thing that Ash loved more than Pokemon was food. That was something that hadn’t changed from when they were kids. If anything, his appetite had increased in their years apart.

He wasted no time as soon as they had a booth. He ran up to the giant buffet tables and snatched a plate from the colossal stacks next to the fruit. Then, he piled it up with heaps of eggs and sausage, a stack of toast, and a mountain of home fries. For extra measure, he added a couple of pancakes to the top.

“You going to leave some for the rest of us?” Mist asked as she plucked the powdered doughnut out of his mouth.

“Hey! Get your own!” he whined as she stole a bite. Her lips were now white from the sugar. Ash had a horrible urge to lick it off of her. It only intensified as she stuck her tongue out at him in response.

He made a sort of strangled noise in his throat and piled more eggs on his plate, telling himself that they were for Pikachu. She giggled and dropped the half-eaten pastry on top of his mountain of food. Ash couldn’t take his eyes off her as she paused in front of the fruit, putting her plate on the counter. She stifled a yawn and began to rub her eye. She paused abruptly, turning her head to face Ash. He averted his gaze immediately, his cheeks burning.

He got close to her once more to grab a second plate. Their shoulders brushed and his heart leapt in his throat. He cleared his throat and placed the second plate under the first. Misty was also done, and they walked back to the table to find that Brock had never left. Instead, he was too busy flirting with one of the waitresses. Ash and Misty caught the other’s gaze as he gave her a wink and they both rolled their eyes. Though, when he looked back at the pair, Ash nearly dropped his plate. The waitress was actually laughing at what he was saying.

“Hey, Brock,” Ash said, sliding into the booth after Misty. “You going to get something to eat?”

“Huh?” Brock turned his attention away from the waitress for the first time since they had sat back down. “Oh-oh yeah.”

The waitress, whose cheeks were now a brilliant shade of scarlet, shuffled her feet over to the other side of the table, next to Ash and Misty. Brock slid out of his side of the booth, grumbling about the interruption. She gave him a side-glance as he left before asking, “What can I get you two to drink?”

“Coffee,” Misty said, her hangover not yet subsided.

“Same,” said Ash. “Can I have an orange juice as well?”

“You got it!” she said as she finished scribbling on her miniature notepad. She slipped into one of her apron pockets and tucked her pen behind her left ear before slinking away to the kitchen.

“So…since when do women actually like Brock?” Ash asked once she was out of ear-shot.

“I have no idea,” Misty replied after taking a bite of pineapple. “I haven’t exactly spent much time with him in recent years. The most I usually get is a phone call—though, that _is_ more than I get from _some_ people.”

Ash swallowed. “Are you still mad about that?”

“Maybe.”

“I said I was sorry. What more do you want?”

She wanted more than that that was for sure. How long would it have been if it weren’t for a change meeting? Would they have ever spoken again for that matter? As much as she loathed the cruel trick fate decided to play on her by thrusting his wind into her sails once more, would she have preferred to be free of him forever? She would have to ride out this storm, rather than be stranded out in the middle of the vast ocean.

“A phone call now and then would suffice.”

“Ah,” he said, lowering his fork. What if Rudy intercepted his calls again? She would think that he had gone back on his word. That meant that this time, he couldn’t give up. He would call until they had to disconnect the phone to stop it from ringing. Then if that happened, he would have to fly in on Charizard. That would surely shock everyone, especially Misty. She had never seen the fire Pokemon listen to him for real. That happened mid-way through Johto. He grunted before answering, “That can be arranged.”

“Good,” she said, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Besides, I need to hear from Pikachu more often.”

“Pika!” Pikachu exclaimed, lifting up his fork in the air, ketchup dripping off the lump of scrambled eggs resting on the end.

Ash opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by Brock’s plate slamming down on the table, creating a loud clatter that caused everyone else at the table to jump.

“Did you guys have to interrupt me like that? I was about to get her number.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Misty stated. “Protection.”

“I don’t need you to protect me—”

“Oh no, not you. I meant the girls.”

“You are so harsh.”

“Guys, she’s coming this way,” Ash interjected.

The blonde was on her way back, one arm occupied by a round, brown tray, which held about a half-dozen drinks. She stopped at the table diagonal to them, dropped off a couple’s glasses of orange juice before finally reaching them.

“So that’s three coffees and one orange juice,” she said as she placed three white coffee mugs face up on the table.

“Thank you,” said Misty.

The girl set the large glass of orange juice down in front of Ash and dropped a wrapped plastic straw next to it. She pulled a fistful of coffee creamers from her apron and left them in a pile at the center of the table.

“Be right back!” She spouted before resting the tray flat against her hip and scurrying away. After a few brief moments of silence, she returned with a full glass coffee pot in her hand. She poured Ash and Misty’s cups first. Once her cup had been filled, Misty added three creamers and four sugars. She wouldn’t normally do add so much, but in that moment, she _needed_ it.

Ash diverted his attention back to their server, who was now pouring Brock’s coffee painstakingly slow. He caught her covertly pass him a white napkin with what appeared to be a phone number written in pink lipstick. Ash gawked at them. What was this? Had he been sucked into some parallel universe where Misty was getting married to some asshole and Brock seemed to be able to snag girls?

“I’ll be back in a bit to check on you,” she said, giving Brock a wink before she retreated from their booth.

“Misty, can you get married more often?” Brock said, “It would give me an excuse to come here. The girls are amazing. I don’t know why I wasted my time chasing after Professor Ivy.”

She shook her head, rolling her eyes before shoving a piece of buttered toast into her mouth. Of course that’s what he would think about. This was the exact reason why she didn’t invite him to the island. Ash chucked at the sight of Brock staring at the blonde.

“Boys,” Misty muttered to herself.

The three of them ate and reminisced for the better part of an hour, their waitress checking in on them more often than what seemed normal. It was after she had left for the fourth time that Ash realized that he was due to give his lecture in about two hours and need to abruptly end their brunch date. He threw a large sum of cash onto the table, easily leaving enough to cover the entire tab. He gave Misty a quick one-armed hug, causing her heart to jump as his hand came in contact with her shoulder. It lasted a few seconds before he withdrew, sliding out and standing. He picked up his hat, and clapping Brock on the shoulder with a promise of seeing him later, he put it on his head before walking away from them and out of sight, Pikachu at his heels.

There was not much left to do other than finish their food and head to the boat. They didn’t linger for long. It was different without Ash. Once the food was eaten, they left the diner, the money still on the table, placed under Ash’s empty glass by Misty, but otherwise, untouched. Brock had paused to say good-bye to the server, and with that, they began their peregrination to the docks.

 

“So what’s going on with you and Ash?”

They were the first words he had said to her since they had left the diner. They had reached the end of the harbor, heading toward the open ocean. The water was calm, the sun hot overhead. A balmy breeze passed by them. Nothing would get in the way of them getting back safely. Nothing, that was, except for her reaction at the mention of Ash. Her hand slipped off the steering wheel at the sound of his inquiry. Her heart skipping a beat, she grabbed it and placed it back in position.

“Nothing,” she snapped.

“That doesn’t sound like ‘nothing’ to me,” Brock replied, raising an eyebrow and grinning.

“Listen,” she said through gritted teeth. “I got a bit carried away at the restaurant. It was a really good wine, you know.”

“Yeah, but what about the champagne afterward?”

“Ash told you?”

“Are you having second thoughts about marrying Rudy?”

Her hand slipped again, causing the boat to turn sharply. A bucket of water knocked over, the water falling down the edge of the boat, the wet rag flopping out and nearly dropping into the sea. Brock almost toppled over as she struggled to turn it back on course.

“Why would you say that?” she shot back accusingly.

“That doesn’t answer the question.” Brock’s gaze was intense, though he was clutching the side rail, his countenance slightly green in color.

“Of course not!” she exclaimed, face flushed.

She had every intention of going through with the wedding. Why would an old flame (if one could call it that—childhood crushes hardly counted) showing up change that? Although, part of her didn’t want to admit it, but it was a relief to know that she wouldn’t be seeing Ash again before the wedding. Twenty-four hours had been enough time to stir up some ancient emotions. Who knew what a few more days with him would do?

They were almost to Trovita. The island was growing large on the horizon by the second. It felt like a nest of snakes had moved into her stomach. She drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. It filled the silence that had fallen between them. Some Wingulls flew overhead, squawking at the boat. A herd of Seels passed them. It wasn’t until they could see docks in the distance before Brock spoke again.

“Well, you had me worried for a second there, you know, with your old crush on Ash and all.”

She stopped cold. “M-my what?”

“You heard me.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Misty…”

“Who told you?”

“I’ve always known.”

“Look—” she started, but stopped when she got a better view of the docks that were rapidly approaching. Standing on top of the platform with his arms crossed was Rudy.


	7. Rudy Ahoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters.

 

“And so you can see—what makes a great trainer is someone’s ability to think on his feet,” Ash said with a smile as he watched the screen. Dragonite hit the ground hard with Pikachu landing easily on his feet. The referee ran over and declared Ash the new champion. The scene faded against the screen as the lights came back on. Ash gave a slight wince. An hour ago, it would have brought searing pain to his head. It was a wonder what food and an aspirin could do.

His grin was greeted by the blank stares of his younger audience. He shifted his weight between his feet. How could someone do this sort of thing full time? Only twenty minutes into it, and he was starting to lose them.

“Erm,” he said. “Of course the most important thing of all is to have strong relationships with all of your Pokemon. Having an unbreakable bond with them is vital when it comes to victory. I owe all of my success to my ability to become friends with my Pokemon.”

“Yeah, but didn’t your Charizard only battle Drake’s Dragonite because it saw it as a challenge? It wouldn’t listen to you otherwise,” said some teenager sitting in the second row.

“Uhh,” Ash faltered. How did this kid know that? Ash had been purposeful in which battles to showcase in his talk. Charizard’s performance prior to the Johto League was out of the question. What did he do? Scrounge up some archives of his old battles as a kid?

“Well,” Ash said, clearing his throat. “There are some exceptions. Charizard was a special case. He’s mellowed out since then.”

“So,” the kid shot back. “When you said always—”

“I meant,” Ash interjected, “that I always treated my Pokemon with love and respect, even if they didn’t immediately warm up to me. Pokemon are like people. You can’t expect all of them to like you. Sometimes you have to put a little work into wearing them down before they will let you in.”

As those final words fluttered out of Ash’s mouth, a flash of red hair entered his brain. That’s right. It had been so long that he had forgotten how rocky their relationship had been at the start. Misty could hardly go a few minutes without accosting him for something stupid that he had done. He found her to be obnoxious back then. But eventually, they wore each other down, opened up a little bit, and became close friends. And now—well now he wasn’t sure _what_ he was feeling.

“Uh Champion Ketchum,” a tiny voice popped up, jarring him from his thoughts.

“Huh?” he said, staring at the small girl in front of him.

“Were you done? You haven’t talked for a few minutes now.”

“Oh jeeze,” he said. “Sorry about that. Must have spaced out for a moment. Does anyone have any questions?”

A sea of hands flew up in the air.

 

It felt like an eternity for the boat to get back to the island. Misty tried not to gaze at Rudy as she steered the boat into the dock. Brock was giving her a look that was a mix of concern and ‘you only did this to yourself.’ What was she meant to say to him? In all that time, she hadn’t thought of a reasonable explanation to why she had been out all night. What could she say? _‘Yeah Rudy. Don’t worry. I was only having a dinner date with the guy I used to have feelings for at the same restaurant where you proposed to me, but I got drunk and ended up spending the night in his hotel room. And then we went out to brunch after with Brock like old times’_ No—the truth would kill him.

She parked the boat with ease, something that she had done hundreds of times, though none of them had ever been under such circumstances. She killed the engine, her hands shaking. There was no use delaying the inevitable. She would have to face him eventually. She inhaled sharply before moving to the edge of the side of the boat. She placed a foot over the side and onto the dock. Her other foot caught the edge of the boat as she lifted her body over, nearly sent her flying. Rudy stood before her, appearing even angrier than he had from a distance.

“Uh hi Rudy,” she said sheepishly.

“Don’t ‘hi’ me. Where have you been?” he growled.

“I—uh—”

“What was I supposed to think when I woke up this morning and you weren’t there? You didn’t even have the courtesy to leave me a note. I had to go to your sister—”

“You went to Daisy?” Misty interrupted. “What did she tell you?”

“It doesn’t matter what she told me—”

“What did she say?” Misty pressed. It did matter. If she had gone back on her word—

“She told me that you had taken the boat, but that you should have been back by now. So the question remains—where the fuck were you?”

“Don’t be angry with Misty,” Brock’s voice carried over from the boat. He hopped out to join them. “It’s my fault. I asked Misty to come with me to a couple of the clubs on the island. We lost track of time, and it got to be too late. We ended up spending the night at the Pokemon Center.”

She whipped around to view her best friend, stunned. Misty owed Brock her life for that moment. Relief spread through her body, leaving it basked in the warm glow of the sun. She closed her gaping mouth as she turned back towards Rudy, transforming it into a sheepish grin.

“You should have called to let me know,” he muttered.

“I didn’t want to wake you.”

“But you thought letting me worry would be better?” he snapped.

Misty’s eyes welled up. “I’m sorry, okay? I don’t know what else you want from me.”

Rudy’s eyes softened. He sighed before enveloping Misty into a tight embrace. “It’s fine. Just don’t ever do that to me again.”

Misty didn’t say anything back. She merely nodded, still locked into his embrace. How on earth had she gotten away with this? Ash’s face swarmed into her brain, and she felt a twinge of guilt. That was behind her now. She saw the last of him for a while. What Rudy didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him right?

Rudy let go of her and latched onto her hand. He started to head towards the cliff. However, Misty stood rooted on the spot. He halted suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed. He let her arm drop.

“You go on ahead,” she said with a reassuring smile. “I just want to rig up the boat properly. I’ll be up to the house in a few minutes.”

“Well…okay,” he replied. “Don’t be too long. There’s only so much time I can spend trying to entertain your sister before I start to run out of ideas.”

“Just wait until there are three of them.”

Misty watched as he casually strolled away, hands tucked into his pockets. Anyone else would say that he seemed fine, gazing at his nonchalant gait. Misty knew better than that. He was still furious. He knew how to hide it well. He would carry on like nothing was wrong for her sake. It was stupid to keep it in like that. He should have carried on yelling at her. She grumbled as she began wrapping the rope against the old weathered wooden post. At least in that case, it wouldn’t linger over their heads.

“Thanks for bailing me out,” she called over to Brock once she knew that Rudy was far out of earshot.

Brock appeared with his backpack in hand. “You owe me big.”

“What do you want?”

“Well, you know you could always—”

“No, I am not setting you up on a date with one of my sisters.”

“Well, I guess I should go run to Rudy and let him know about your other activities from last night…”

He eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

He gulped, looking panicked for a second before starting to chuckle. “It was worth a shot.”

She shook her head as she finished wrapping the rope tightly around the post, finishing it off in a bowline knot. She brushed her forearm against her brow, wiping away the sweat. She stood up and joined Brock as he began walking towards the cliff.

The heat was blistering that day. She felt the sun scorch her skin as she and Brock made their way up to her cottage. Misty had removed her heels, choosing to walk barefoot on the hot sand.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. By the time they made it up to the cottage, Misty was dying to take a shower. Her hair had begun to frizz, causing her hair to fly in all sorts of directions. The hairspray that had been leftover from the night before had not been any help.

She opened the screen door, a rush of cold from the air conditioning hitting her face. She closed her eyes as she let the cool air calm her nerves. Her head was still pounding slightly, her hangover lingering like an unwanted houseguest.

There were voices coming through the doorway leading into the kitchen. Brock walked through the archway without hesitation. Misty knew that he would be looking for Daisy. Her other sisters would be arriving shortly as well. If he had it his way, he would have had the Sensational Sisters give a riveting performance as part of the entertainment at the reception. Thankfully, she shot down that idea before it even flew out of his mouth. He would just have to settle for crashing Rudy’s bachelor party.

She passed the kitchen and climbed the stairs. She heard the murmur of voices below her as she reached the landing. She wasted no time going into the bathroom and locking the door behind her.

A gentle breeze was coming in from the small window in between the shower and toilet. Misty strolled over and snatched the sheer white curtains, pulling them closed. She yanked the shower curtain open slightly and reached for the faucet. She turned the water on, letting it heat up as she peeled the dress off her sticky body. The clothes dropped in a heap on the floor.

She stepped into the shower, letting the hot water to envelop her entire body. Even though it was summer, she head needed the steamy shower. It helped to clear her head, her thoughts being a mess since that fateful lunch. She closed her eyes, letting the water beat against her back. It was complete bliss. As she stood there with the waterfall of bathwater cascading down the length of her body, her mind began to wander.

Ash Ketchum had reappeared into her life. What a thing to happen the week of her wedding! Not that that would ever matter to Mister Pokemon Master. Pokemon was always at the forefront of his mind. People and feelings were never his forte. It was no wonder that he was still seemingly single—a fact that, for some reason, brought immense relief to her.

Why should she care if he had someone anyway? She was getting married. She should think that she would be happy for him he ever got his act together and started dating. Then again—there was the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that maybe she wouldn’t be. As she started to shampoo her hair, she recalled all of those girls begging for his autograph. She was miffed about it—that much was true. At first, she had assumed that it was due to them holding them up for breakfast. But now, she wasn’t so sure. All she knew was that she hated them for accosting him—but was that all there was to it? Did this mean that she might have feelings for this guy? Impossible! So much time had transpired. How could that possibly be so? They hadn’t spoken in years…although…when she had been with him that night…she felt more like her true self than she had in years.

She finished rinsing the soap from her body and shut the water off after a few more minutes. She exhaled deeply. It was much too short. It would have been nice to have taken a much longer shower, but she didn’t want Rudy to think that she was avoiding him. She pulled back the curtain and grabbed the towel from the rack on the wall next to her.

When she started to dry off, she continued to mull over her feelings. Even if she did feel something for him again, it wouldn’t matter anyway. Ash would never think of her in that light. Pokemon was his true love. And Rudy must be hers. He was quiet and romantic. He took her on dates and swept her off her feet. Sure he could be a little haughty at times and absolutely had to have it his way, but everyone had their faults. Ash didn’t matter anymore. He _couldn’t_ matter anymore. So what if the sight of his face made her heart skip a beat? So what if she laughed hardest at his silly antics? He was in her past. Rudy was her future. She was going to marry Rudy that Saturday, and that would be the end of it. No more Ash. No more teenage crush.

She wrapped the towel around her body and snatched her other clothes, clutching them against her chest. Tiptoeing, she opened the door and went across the hall into her room, closing the door behind her with her foot. Holding the towel tighter, she dropped the dirty clothes into her hamper. Wasting no time, she took out a pair of shorts and a blue tank-top. She took a pair of fresh underwear from the drawer and slipped the lace over her legs. There was a bra on the floor from which she snatched, sniffed, and continued to slip her arms through the straps.

Once she finished dressing, she took a hair elastic from her nightstand and began to gather her wet hair. There was no point drying it in this heat. She pulled the ponytail through and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, causing her to halt.

Her appearance was fine except for the giant raccoon markings under her eyes. Cursing, she dug a wipe out of the package from next to her make up on the dresser and started to furiously scrub under her eyelids. After a few minutes of rubbing, she looked like a normal human again. Sighing, she tossed the balled up make-up remover wipe into the waste basket as she exited the room.

She went back downstairs and into the kitchen to find her sister laughing with Rudy, Mahri, and Brock. As soon as she came through the door, Rudy enveloped her in another hug, making a face when her wet hair brushed against her cheek. She knew he was still furious underneath it all, but he was making the effort to forgive her. How did she ever deserve him? She put her arms around him, her eyes darting between Brock and Daisy. They broke apart and Misty gave him a small smile. He kissed her on the cheek before heading to the doorway.

“Well, it has been lovely catching up, but I must get back to the gym. Duty calls,” he said.

“Rudy—” Misty began.

“I’ll see you tonight. Can you have dinner ready for six?”

“Uh sure,” she replied.

“Thanks.”

He put on his sunglasses and with a flick of his hair, he left the room. Mahri went after him, being the gym’s apprentice. Misty was thankful that her future sister-in-law hadn’t been there when they first ran into Ash. She would have said something to her brother by now, and then she would have been in big trouble then. Fate could be kind and on her side some of the time.

“You had the right idea,” Brock said.

“Huh?”

“Taking a shower. I feel so gross right now.”

“Well go take one,” Misty replied. “No one is stopping you.”

“True,” Brock said. “Yeah, all right. Be back in fifteen.”

Like the two before him, Brock made his way through the kitchen and entered the hall, leaving Daisy and Misty alone. A silence fell between them once he had gone. Daisy began putting dishes away from the strainer when Misty broke the ice.

“What did you tell Rudy?” she pressed. It wasn’t the best way to start the conversation. She did acknowledge this factor. However, she had to know and this might be the only opportunity that she would have the entire week.

“You know, you put me in like a really bad position here.”

“I know,” Misty said. “I’m sorry.”

“You could have like called,” she said, turning to face her sister. “Rudy wasn’t the only one who was like worried about you.”

“Okay, okay,” Misty said impatiently. “I get it. I already said I was sorry.”

“You owe me a shopping spree.”

“Fine.” Misty rolled her eyes. “Just tell me what you told him.”

“Pushy today, aren’t we?”

“Daisy—”

“Oh relax,” she snapped. “I said you and Brock were still on the island, but I didn’t know what you were up to. I didn’t like tell him about Ash. Your secret is still safe with me. Though, I still think it was a stupid thing to do.”

“Well, it’s over with,” Misty said, taking a seat at the small table.

Daisy finished putting away the giant stack of plates, leaving a few glasses. She put one of them away and the other two onto the table in the center. She went over to the fridge and procured a pitcher of lemonade. She poured each of them a glass before sitting in the opposing seat.

“So, what happened?”

“Nothing,” Misty replied. Daisy raised an eyebrow. “ _Really_. Nothing happened.”

“So, uh, like why didn’t you come back last night?”

Misty sipped her lemonade. What would Daisy say to her? There honestly wasn’t much to tell. Nothing had happened—or at least nothing that would ruin her relationship with Rudy or the wedding. What could she say?

“I stayed over in Ash’s hotel room,” she finally said once her glass had been emptied.

“You—WHAT?”

“Relax,” she said, a grin forming on her face. “Like I said before, nothing happened.”

Daisy narrowed her eyes at Misty. “But you stayed in his hotel room.”

“I only slept there. Ash didn’t want to me to drive the boat back with the amount of wine we had had at dinner. My clothes stayed on, so again, nothing happened.”

“Okay, fine,” Daisy said, putting her hands up in resignation. “You know, for someone who insists nothing happened you’re awfully defensive about it.”

She got up and picked up her glass, still half-full. She poured it into the sink, leaving the glass still inside. She didn’t utter another word to her youngest sister before exiting the kitchen. Misty sat there for a few moments, chewing her tongue. She put her head in her hands. This was going to be a long week.

 

“Well, I think that’s everything,” Ash said as he pushed down on the pile of clothes inside his suitcase. He closed the lid and flopped over on it. He did this several times before finally managing to jimmy the zipper until it closed.

Exhaling, he took a gaze around the room to see if he had missed anything. Pikacha was sat on the bed, along with his hat. He still had another two days left of his reservation, but he had no other reason to stay.

Some of the trainers invited him out to a party later that night, but he gently declined. He knew how that would have gone. He would have spent the night giving autographs and fighting off fangirls.

He ran his hand through his hair, wondering if he was doing the right thing. If he checked out, he wouldn’t be able to come back if it didn’t work out. It didn’t matter though. He’d figure something out in the end. He always did.

He got up from his seat on top of his suitcase. He bent over, grabbing the handle and shifting it upright. With his free hand, he picked up his hat and secured it on his head. He extended his arm once more so Pikachu could climb up and onto his shoulder. Pikachu bounded up without hesitation.

Ash walked out of the hotel room, suitcase in hand. He double checked to make sure that he had all of the essentials before shutting the door. He glanced down at his watch. Cursing, he yanked the suitcase and began to book it down the hall, Pikachu clinging to his neck. He fumbled with the elevator button, hitting it several times, as if that would get it to go faster.

“We’re going to have to hurry if we want to make the last ferry of the day,” Ash muttered to himself.

The elevator started moving. Ash watched as the numbers started to change, counting down to his floor. He gripped the handle harder. It would be there any second.

“You ready to go to Trovita?” he asked as the elevator doors opened.

“Pika!”


	8. An Unexpected Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took a while for me to update. I've been working on other projects and life things. Next chapter should be up on November 1st. Planning on having the rest written and a new chapter posted every day for Pokeshipping week. We'll see how that goes.
> 
> For now, please enjoy the latest chapter.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Sarah

 

The sky was almost completely dark, except for the faint pink line that hugged the horizon. Ash gazed out at it, watching the line grow thinner and fainter. He still couldn’t believe that he was doing this. The ferry had left not long ago—just as the sun had been beginning to set.

The boat was due to dock early the following morning. Ash had managed to find an empty cabin to crash for the night. He had dropped off all of his things before coming up to the deck with Pikachu.

He peered around. It was deserted other than a pair of women lounging in a couple of deck chairs, as though they were hoping to catch some sun in the middle of a cloudless night. They appeared to be harassing one of the staff members from what he could overhear of their conversation.

“What do you mean ‘there’s no wait service?’” the one with pink hair said.

“Yeah,” said the other one with blue hair. “How are we, like, supposed to get a martini around here?”

They seemed so familiar to Ash, but he couldn’t place from where he knew them.

“I’m so sorry, miss,” replied the young man. “But we don’t have any alcohol on this ship. It’s a ferry, not a cruise.”

“This is unacceptable,” the pink-haired woman said angrily. “Where’s your manager?”

“The captain?” the man asked. “Uh, he’s steering the ship at the moment.”

The girl with pink hair opened her mouth to retort, but was stopped by the other one placing her hand on her arm.

“Forget it, Lily,” she said. “It’s not worth it.”

“But Violet—”

“He’s clearly an idiot. Not worth our time. You can go now,” the one called Violet said, waving the man away with her hand.

He stalked off in the other direction, grumbling to himself. Ash couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. The two of them seemed like a bit of a nightmare.

Ash gave them a second, scrutinizing look. It took a few moments, but he finally realized who they were—Misty’s other two sisters, Lily and Violet. They had met a couple of times in his youth, once at the beginning of his journey when he had hopes of earning a Cascade Badge, and another to help out with their underwater ballet, in which Misty had starred. They must have been on their way to the island for the wedding as well.

He hesitated. Should he go over and say hello? It was tough. He didn’t know how coming to the wedding would be received. Would they be annoyed or angry? Ash shook his head. They would know that he was there soon enough. He inhaled, squaring his shoulders. Pikachu perched on top of one, he marched over to them.

“Good evening, ladies.”

They turned their heads in his direction. Both narrowed their eyes at him, shifting uncomfortably in their chairs. Lily had scrunched up her nose at him before opening her mouth.

“Uh, who are you?”

Ash stared back at them, nonplussed. Had he changed that much that they didn’t even recognize him anymore? Or was it the mere fact that he was so insignificant that they didn’t remember him at all?

“Ash Ketchum…remember?”

Violet shook her head. “No, sorry. Doesn’t ring a bell.”

Ash blinked, beginning to feel his annoyance rising. How could they not remember him? He saved their gym on two separate occasions for heaven’s sake. It was absurd. Ash sighed. Okay, say that they might not remember him from a decade ago, but surely they would know who he was being gym leaders in the Kanto Region—the very one of which he was now the new champion. Were these girls that out of touch?

“Um, I’m the new Kanto champion…was just crowned a few weeks ago.”

Lily turned to Violet. “Did you know that we had a new champion?”

She shook her head. “No. News to me.”

Ash wanted to bang his head against the side of the boat. How could they be so stupid? These girls were driving him crazy. Perhaps it hadn’t been the best decision to approach them. All it was doing was leading Ash to utter frustration. Sensing the tension, Pikachu patted his head in an attempt to calm his trainer.

“Anyway,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m old friends with your sister, Misty. We used to travel together when we were kids. Do you remember now?”

Clarity washed over Violet’s face. “Like oh my God! You grew up!”

“I did.”

“Oh that’s right!” Lily said. “You’re that kid that Misty used to l—”

She stopped short when she caught the dangerous look on Violet’s face.

“So what are you doing here?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Well, I, uh…I’m going to the wedding.”

Ash swallowed as he witnessed their stunned expressions. Was he doing the right thing here? Was he intruding into her already established life? Maybe he was. Yet, she—but maybe that didn’t matter. She might not have meant that with what her state of mind had been. He felt a twinge of guilt. Why did he have to always react so rashly to every situation?

“How come Misty didn’t mention it?” Lily turned to her sister.

“I mean,” Ash said, interrupting. “I got my invitation pretty last minute, so that might be why.”

“I wonder why she decided to do that.”

“Might be something to do with Rudy,” Violet whispered into Lily’s ear. “You know how he gets. Sis might be in trouble with this one.”

“Well,” Ash said, shifting his feet. “I just thought I’d say hello. I’ll probably see you later at one point or another. Have a good-night.”

Neither of them replied as they watched him walk away from them and out of sight. They exchanged looks with each other. They knew that tomorrow morning would be interesting to say the least, especially if Rudy was going to be with Misty to greet them. If they didn’t really need the alcohol before, they did then.

Fatigue setting in, Ash knew that the thin mattress in his room was calling him. There would be plenty of time over the next few days to make small talk with them if he wished. He flopped down on the bed, not bothering to change. Turning out the light, he closed his eyes. Even though he knew he should, he didn’t care about what was about to come. What was the use of fretting over it? With no worries about the next morning, he let sleep carry him away.

 

Misty stood on the dock, staring out into the horizon. The dawn was steadily approaching, the sky a bright orange. Rudy, sitting impatiently on the edge of the dock, kept running his fingers through his hair as she watched the horizon. Brock and Daisy were still asleep in their beds, the lucky bastards. Brock was one thing, but Daisy should have been there with Misty and Rudy. Violet and Lily were her sisters, too. It was unfair, Misty thought bitterly.

While irritated with her eldest sister, Misty felt a bit guilty making her fiancé wait here for her sisters like this. He had got up at the crack of dawn with her, only bothering to throw on some clothes before they made the trek down to the docks to meet the early-morning ferry. They were planning on having breakfast all together once her sisters were there.

Rudy was in the middle of stifling a yawn when Misty finally saw a faint shadow against the horizon. She nudged his shoulder as she saw the boat approach them. He groaned as he swung his legs back over the edge of the dock. He lifted his body to an upright position, joining her. They stared out at the ocean, a breeze blowing, spraying salt water on their faces.

Misty tried to calm the storm raging in her stomach as the boat came closer. She knew that it was only her sisters, but any time spent with her family ended up being extremely stressful, especially when all three of them were there. Misty had half-considered just eloping for this very reason. As she watched the ferry coming to dock, she was beginning to regret that decision.

After another fifteen minutes, the couple watched as a few people started filing off. There wasn’t much to do on the island except for the gym and a tiny house resort on the opposite side of the island for those who were looking for an off-the-grid experience. Most of the time, they never got any visitors. Misty nudged Rudy again as she saw them at last. They were looking rough, with their disheveled hair and the bags under their eyes, concealed by giant sunglasses. She shook her head. They, like Daisy, had not changed—still as high-maintenance as ever.

“Misty!” Violet shouted as she rushed to give her baby sister a hug.

“It’s good to see you too,” Misty replied, as she broke away. She moved over to Lily who had caught up to them, also giving her a hug. “How was your journey?”

“Awful,” replied Violet.

“Yeah,” Lily said. “Like we couldn’t even get a drink on this stupid boat.”

Misty did her best to hide her smirk. They were also the reason why she had decided against an open bar. That was a choice that she was far from regretting. “Oh. I see.”

“How are you, Rudy?” Lily said, turning to her sister’s fiancé, who had been just idling in front of them.

“Oh fine, thanks,” he said, stifling another yawn.

“Did our little sis make you get up early on account of us?” Violet commented. “You didn’t need to do that.”

Rudy smiled, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s no trouble. You’re our guests.”

Violet frowned. “Yes,” she said, rotating to face her sister. “Speaking of guests, why didn’t you tell us you invited that kid?”

Misty stared at her. “I’m sorry…who?”

“You know, that annoying kid that you used to hang out with before coming to live here. He has black hair and this goofy expression on his face.”

“Tracey?”

It was true that Misty _had_ invited Tracey. They had still kept in touch over the years. He had replied about a month ago, stating that he was going to be unable to make it. He had an art exhibition in Kanto at the same time, showing off all of his Pokemon art. It would have been nice to see him, but she understood. It was a big deal, after all. She didn’t think she had to inform her sisters about every person she had sent an invite to, especially when the person wasn’t even coming.

“No, not him,” she replied impatiently. “The one with the Pikachu.”

She froze. Why would she be asking about _him_? He wasn’t invited. What was Violet playing at? Misty was about to open her mouth to demand to know when she saw him coming off the boat. Her heart leapt into her throat at the sight of him, Pikachu perched on his shoulder. What the fuck?

Her heart was trying to beat out of her chest. She took a side-glance at Rudy. What was she going to do? What was he doing here? Panic was beginning to set in as she stood there frozen. She was dead now. There was no way getting out of it.

Everything around her seemed to stop as he walked toward her. Her breath was caught in her throat. She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. Why was the universe doing this to her? What had she done in a past life to deserve this?

Ash stood before all of them, dropping down his bag. Pikachu leapt from his shoulder toward Misty. Taken aback, she barely managed to catch him as he hit her chest. Ash gave Misty a sheepish smile. She didn’t return it.

“What are _you_ doing here?” Rudy said.

“Uh,” Ash said, his cheeks turning slightly pink. “Misty invited me?”

Rudy whipped his head in her direction. “You did _what_?”

“Uhh,” she said. What the hell was Ash playing at? He just showed up on his own accord, but what else could she say? If she said too much, he would know something wasn’t right. Dinner with Ash was the secret that she wished to continue to harbor. It was only going to make it worse.

“Well?”

Misty looked at him defiantly. “I have a right to invite anyone I want. It’s my wedding.”

Rudy glared back at her. “It’s my wedding too. I have a right to know who is coming, you know.”

“Why do you care so much?” Misty asked, throwing her hands up in the air. “Why does it matter to you about every single little thing I do. I don’t have to ask for your permission.”

“I don’t do that—”

“Don’t give me that bull shit,” Misty snapped. “You may not say it, but I know if I did certain things that you would flip out on me _like you’re doing right now._ ”

The two of them stared each other down, oblivious to the other three. Pikachu, still in Misty’s arms, kept turning his back and forth between them as if he were watching a tennis match. Ash stood, also watching, teetering back and forth on his heels.  Perhaps this _hadn’t been_ the best idea.

“Whatever,” Rudy finally said. He started marching off in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going?” Misty yelled at him.

“I’ll be at the gym!”

She watched him smash his hands into his pockets as he stormed off. He was mad this time. Other than an omission of information, she couldn’t see why. She never understood what his problem was when it came to Ash. She always got this feeling that her friendship with Ash had always bothered him in the past. Now, it seemed even more obvious. Why was it such a bad thing even if she actually _had_ invited him to the wedding? She should be able to share it with the people for which she cared most.

She shook her head, trying to push the argument out of her thoughts. Her stomach lurched. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so harsh. She chewed on her cheek as she absent-mindedly stroked behind one of Pikachu’s ears. What could she do though? If she told him the truth, he would ask how Ash knew about when the wedding was anyway. What could she say in this case? She could admit the truth about the other night or she could throw one of her other friends under the bus. Either way, she was completely screwed.

She turned to her sisters and Ash. They stood there in stunned silence as the sun continued to rise above the horizon. A small breeze had kicked up. The waves knocked against the dock, rocking it gently. Violet cleared her throat.

“Uhh,” she said. “We’re going to head up to the cottage, if that’s okay with you.”

“What?” Misty said, being pulled out of her thoughts. “T-that’s fine. Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you…just give me a few minutes.”

Violet and Lily grabbed the handles of their suitcases and began to drag them along. They struggled a bit once they had had hit the sand. After a few moments of fighting to yank them through the dunes, they resigned, picking them up by the handle and carrying them in the end. Once they were out of earshot, Misty rounded on Ash.

Ash took a step back as she stared him down. He gulped, knowing that she was ready to explode. It was no different than when they were kids, but this time it wasn’t over something as stupid as getting a little bit lost. With age came a depth of problems that he wasn’t exactly equipped to handle. Yet, here he was, and because of his careless error in judgment, he was risking losing the friendship he had only just salvaged days prior. His stomach was in knots as she gently placed Pikachu down on the dock.

“What the _fuck_ are you doing here?”

“Uhh…” he replied, casting his eyes down. “You did invite me here.”

“No I didn’t,” she hissed. Boy, he had some nerve!

“Yes you did—”he began to argue, but stopped short. His eyes grew wide. “Oh my gosh—you don’t remember, do you?”

“Ash, what the hell are you talking about?” she said. “I think I would remember sending you an in—”

“You didn’t,” he admitted. “But you did ask me to come the other night when we were hanging out in my hotel room. I’m a little hazy on the details, but I _know_ you told me to come to your wedding.”

She gawked at him for a long moment. He looked back at her earnestly. Misty wanted to believe that he wasn’t lying to her, but she was struggling to remember ever uttering such words. It felt like groping in the dark for something intangible. A lot of details were hazy for her as well. It took a few minutes of staring off in the distance at the glowing scarlet sun for the memory to flood back to her.

 

_They were sitting on the carpet of Ash’s hotel room. The television mounted to the wall had been turned on, but neither of them was really watching it. Misty was more interested in the bottle of champagne and, though she was loath to admit it, the man sitting next to her. She knocked her head back, her lips firmly pressed against the champagne flute as she finished its contents. She lowered her arm back down, hand still tightly on the glass as she leaned up against the box spring behind her._

_He was nursing his own drink, not too eager to finish it in one gulp. Pikachu was above them, fast asleep on the bed. A cardboard box containing half of a pepperoni pizza lay between them. Ash glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It was just past midnight. He should have been getting to bed by now, considering he had his lecture the next day. However, in that moment, he didn’t seem to care. Rather than sleeping, he preferred the hours spent with the redhead next to him._

_He didn’t know how it popped into his head. He didn’t know why it was nagging at him in that very moment. However, somehow the words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them._

_“Why didn’t you tell me you were getting married? I still don’t understand.”_

_She gazed back at him, her stomach lurching uneasily. She sighed before grabbing the bottle with her free hand and pouring another tall glass. She placed the bottle back into the bucket of ice that rested behind the pizza box before pressing the glass back up to her lips once more. She took a couple of large gulps before lowering her arm once more, her throat gasping for breath. She inhaled sharply, shuttering._

_“I thought about sending an invitation to your house,” she said finally. “I knew that your mom would get it and let you know as soon as she could. I don’t know…something held me back. I thought about doing it multiple times. I think there’s even an addressed envelope to you somewhere in my vanity drawer. In the end, I just couldn’t do it. Too much time had passed…and I didn’t think you would want to come anyway.”_

_“That’s not true,” he replied. “I would have gladly come.”_

_Misty bit her lip. She knew that she wasn’t being entirely honest with him. While what she said was almost entirely true, she was omitting the part that the fear of Rudy’s reaction was the main thing that had held her back. She couldn’t tell him that though. He might comment about that, and she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it._

_Guilt was a knife plunging itself into her core, twisting in her stomach every time she glanced up and saw him staring at her with his warm brown eyes. How could she have excluded him like that? She had invited Brock without a question, but she had left him out in the cold. What kind of person was she?_

_“Come then.”_

_“W-what?”_

_“I’m inviting you now,” she said, her face turning scarlet. “I should have in the first place, and you’re already here anyway. Just come over once you’re done with what you need to do.”_

_Ash raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”_

_“Y-yeah,” she said. “I want you there.”_

_“Okay,” he said, beaming at her._

_His gaze was so intense that she had to avert her eyes, focusing more on the flute in front of her. She drank the rest of it in one gulp, shuttering as she felt it pass her throat. She was going to regret this decision, but in that moment, she didn’t care. Besides, they probably wouldn’t even remember the conversation in the morning, so it was fine._

 

Misty gaped at him once the memory was now fresh in her mind. What could she say to him now? She couldn’t take back that invitation, not now that he was already here. Oh, why did she have to be so stupid?

“Oh God,” she muttered. “What did I do?”

“Do you want me to go then?” Ash asked, tilting his head at her.

“No!” she said, almost too quickly. Ash’s brow furrowed. She cleared her throat. “I mean—you shouldn’t go. I meant it when I said you should come. I just forgot all about it, that’s all. Rudy—he doesn’t like surprises. I didn’t get a chance to prepare him for that.”

“I see,” Ash said, gripping his suitcase tightly, lifting it off the ground. “Well, I’ll see you later. I need to see if I can find a good spot for us to sleep for the night.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You know…? To camp out…?”

She looked away, rolling her eyes. “Oh, you are such an idiot.”

She yanked the suitcase out of his hand, clasping it in her hand firmly. She grabbed his hand with her free one. His body gave a jolt when her skin came in contact with his. Oblivious to his face going a dark shade of red, she began to drag him along toward the cottage overlooking the cliff.

“You really think that I would let you camp out in the woods?” she said, shaking her head. “We’ll find you a place to stay. It’s not a big deal.”

“O-okay,” he replied, not caring for anything other than the fact that she was holding his hand as they trudged through the sand.

“I’ll make breakfast as soon as we get to the house,” she continued on. “I’m sure you’re hungry, right?”

“Uhh…yeah.”

They fell silent as they walked up to Misty’s house, hand-in-hand, with Pikachu following at their heels.


	9. Tensions Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Pokeshipping Week

They got back to the house to discover the smell of bacon and eggs wafting in the air. Misty kicked off her shoes in the entryway before proceeding to the kitchen. Ash mirrored her movements, also removing his sneakers before following her down the hallway and into the kitchen. They walked into the room to find Brock stationed in front of the stove, his back turned to her sisters who were all sitting at the table, which had been extended in anticipation of their arrival. They were happily chatting, their mugs filled to the brim with coffee.

They all turned at the sound of their footsteps. The laughter died instantly at the sight of them. The room was silent except for the sizzling of several pans on the stove. Daisy stared at them with wide eyes. Brock nearly dropped the carton of eggs he had been about to return to the fridge. Lily and Violet shifted uncomfortably in their seats as Brock and Daisy continued to gape at them. No one noticed Pikachu in front of the counter, trying to reach the bottle of ketchup. Judging by everyone’s reaction, clearly neither Violet nor Lily had said anything to the other two. Of course.

“Good morning,” Misty said her voice shifting up an octave, hands shaking. “Look who decided to join us for breakfast.”

Ash sheepishly waved back at the others, but no one made an effort to return the greeting. They looked at each other, unsure of what to say. After a moment, Brock was the first to speak.

“Breakfast?”

“You know,” Misty replied, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “That thing you have after sleeping. It usually involves pancakes and stuff.”

Ash snorted at her comment, but hastily turned it into a sort of cough.

“Anyway…Brock,” Misty said, trying to divert the subject away from Ash’s presence. “You’re cooking breakfast? I was going to do that.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t back yet, and your guests were getting hungry,” he replied, flipping a pancake with a teal spatula.

“And this doesn’t have anything to do with you trying to impress them, does it?”

“Umm…”

“Mmmhmm.”                                                                                                   

The room fell into another uneasy silence. Misty sat down next to Daisy at the table and started to pour a glass of orange juice. Ash, hesitating, took the seat at the far end of the table, away from Misty. His attention shifted to Pikachu, who was still trying to retrieve the ketchup. Shaking his head, he got up, walked over to the counter, and grabbed the bottle. With a small glance at Misty, who didn’t notice him, he handed the bottle to Pikachu. He sighed as the Pokemon flipped open the cap and began lapping at the condiment.

Misty sipped her juice slowly. This was not how she wanted things to go. What was she going to do? This was turning out to be a complete disaster, so to speak. She looked over at Ash for a second. He was talking to Brock when he caught her eye. He peered back at her, giving her a warm grin. She averted her gaze back down to the table, her cheeks burning. Daisy leaned over to her.

“What is he doing here?” Daisy hissed in her ear.

“Well. I kind of accidentally invited him,” she muttered, not taking her eyes off the table.

“Misty!”

“I know. I know. It was an accident. I was drunk. I can’t help it if he took it seriously.”

“Rudy is going to kill you.”

“Too late for that.”

Daisy opened her mouth to speak, but shut it quickly as Brock rested a large serving plate full of a variety of pancakes – blueberry, chocolate chip, and buttermilk, to name a few. A few seconds later, Ash and Brock placed the rest of breakfast on the table, which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, and home fries. There was already a large bowl of fruit salad on the table, next to the can of whipped cream. Ash sat back down and started piling his plate.

“So, Ash,” Daisy said as she stabbed a pancake with her fork, lifting and dropping it back down to her own plate. “How long are you going to be gracing us with your presence?”

“Uhh,” he replied, ignoring the tension that he picked up from her voice. “I was going to stay for the wedding. I mean I probably will head back home that night, I would think?”

“You can come back with me if you want,” Brock said. “I’m leaving the morning after.”

“That would be great!” he exclaimed. “Thanks, Brock!”

Daisy was not yet satisfied with her interrogation. “Do you know where you’re like staying?”

 “I wanted to find somewhere to camp out, but Misty wouldn’t hear of it.”

Misty flushed an even deeper shade of red. “I don’t want you smelling when you show up for my wedding.”

“I would still have taken a shower.”

“I wouldn’t be sure about that.”

“Anyway,” Daisy interjected. “So, are you spending the day with us, then? We are going to be going around the island, talking wedding details and such. You sure that you’re going to be up for that?”

Ash gawked at her. What was with all of the questions? What was the point of this? He had experienced quite a few interrogations that were much less demanding and intrusive. Daisy could have given the paparazzi in Kanto a run for their money.

“Yeah,” he replied. “That’s fine.”

He shot Misty a look of desperation. Why was her sister giving him the third degree? What was her problem? Misty said nothing, shrugging her shoulders. Ash’s heart sunk. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t be spending much time with the girl that for some reason made his heart skip beats and put butterflies in his stomach. _She’s getting married,_ he reminded himself.

Ash groaned as they continued to traverse through a patch of tropical forest. He knew that it was the quickest way back to the gym, but this was ridiculous. Why did she have to get married on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean on the other side of the island? Why couldn't they have taken a boat or a car or something. They were having the reception itself at a hall in the small village down the road from the gym, but they were going to be taking boats down the river then. So why couldn't they have done that now?

Misty had given him some lame excuse that almost all of those boats were going to be rented for the ceremony, and with the few that they did have, they needed to conserve the gas in them. It would be fantastic if one of them ran out of gas on the way to the reception. Ash didn't entirely believe this. He was almost certain that Misty and her sisters were determined to torture him.

Brock was also with them as well, though he didn't seem as miserable as Ash was. He was too busy paying attention to Misty's sisters to feel anything else. He was on an island –the only one who wasn't exactly keen about this whole wedding thing.

It wasn't that he loathed the idea of huge extravagant weddings. Well, actually, he did, but that was beside the point. It was more of the fact that this was Misty's wedding—her wedding to Rudy, for one thing. It was eating away at him, consuming his every thought. Desperately, he wanted to talk to Brock about this—to figure it all out. But how could he? He was surrounded by all the women by whom he did not wish to be overheard. He would have to find some time to talk to him in private, but when could he do it?

They reached the end of the forest, coming out to a wide clearing that led to the back of the Trovita gym. Misty and her sisters were leading the group across the grass and toward the gym. Ash watched as Misty chatted away with Lily about the location. She paused to stretch, flexing her back muscles and rotating neck. Catching him looking in the corner of her eye, she turned her neck to look back at Ash. When she had done so, he was already looking away, seemingly interesting in some Pokemon that he had seen on the edge of the clearing. She could have been wrong, but she could have sworn that she had caught him staring at him.

His cheeks continued to burn as he continued to sense her gaze upon his skin. Why was she doing this to him? She was Misty! She was his childhood friend. She shouldn’t be having this effect on him. Although…she was different now. He couldn’t help but noticed the longer hair, wider hips, and high cheek bones. Her aqua eyes had this way of pulling him into the rest of her heart-shaped face.

He stole a glance at her. Relief washed over him as he realized that she was no longer looking in his direction. His shoulders relaxed as they approached the gym, the sun beginning to descend below the edge of the roof. They reached the rear door after a few more moments.

Misty gripped the doorknob, hand trembling. Her stomach wouldn’t stop squirming around. Rudy was probably still furious with her. She bit her lip. Did she really want to see him right now? They could do their best to avoid him, but the gym wasn’t _that_ large. They would probably run into him eventually. She let out a long exhale. She would have to face him eventually. It’s not like she could avoid him all the way leading up to their wedding. That would be ridiculous.

She opened the door, and everyone followed her through the threshold. They had done a few renovations throughout the years. Ash barely recognized the interior. Instead of just a plain dance studio, they had expanded it to include a lobby, a few recreation and guest rooms for challengers, the studio and workout area, and a pool for Misty to train her Pokemon. The main arena for matches was still outside on the rocks like Ash would have remembered it.

They walked through the empty lobby quietly and entered the hallway. The door to the studio was open, music blaring from inside. She tiptoed past the opening and motioned for the others to do the same. They had snuck by without being noticed. They went further down the hallway until they reached a small room with a couch, television, and a small table with chairs.

The women sat down at the table while Ash and Brock plopped down on the couch. Pikachu joined them, nestling between the two of them. Brock found the remote and switched the television on. Ash was pleasantly surprised to see Professor Oak in front of him, discussing differences within the same species. For the first time in days, he felt himself being sucked into his first love of Pokemon…rather than some other thing.

Daisy had a few planning books with her. She had splayed them out in front of the other three as they began discussing the plans for the wedding—order of bridal party going down the aisle, seating arrangements, how they should set up the reception. Half-way through the program, Ash diverted his attention back over to the table. He focused on Misty, who had her face in her hands, appearing on the verge of a panic attack. He was about to ask if she was doing okay when they heard another voice come through the doorway.

“Misty?”

They all turned to see Rudy standing there, looking uneasy. He ran his hand through his auburn hair, throwing it out of place. Ash quickly shot a look at Misty. She had stood up, her hands still on the small oak table, fingers pressed gently up against the wood.

Pausing for a moment, she walked over to him. She couldn't quite read him—was he still angry with her? Sighing, she grabbed his hand and yanked him out into the hallway with her. Ash leaned over to the side, determined to catch every word.

“Misty, I'm sorry,” Rudy said before Misty could utter a word, taking her aback. He never apologized first.

“No, I'm sorry,” she said. “I should have told you that Ash was coming.”

“It's fine,” he said shaking his head. “I overreacted. Of course you can invite whomever you want. I was being stupid.”

He stepped toward her, enveloping her in a hug. She returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around him, but for some reason, something felt missing. She couldn't quite place it, but something felt wrong about this—almost like his weren't the arms that were meant to be around her. She should have felt thrilled when he hugged, for that's what you are meant to feel when in love. However, for some reason, she felt none of that whenever he embraced her these days. She brushed it off quickly, attributing it to some case of cold feet. It would go away in time, and she would end up blissfully married—or so she hoped.

“I got to get back to training.”

“Lucky you,” Misty commented. “We're going over seating charts. Care to trade?”

“Not on your life.”

He planted a kiss on her forehead before heading back down the opposite end of the hall. Misty sighed before reentering the room. At least that had gone better than she expected, which would have been a screaming match.

She went to join her sisters back at the table, but stopped when she noticed Ash staring at her again. She felt her cheeks begin to flush. He needed to stop doing that.

“What?” she asked, looking back at him.

“Everything okay?”

“Everything's fine,” she said with a forced smile.

She rejoined her sister, sitting down. The seating chart was displayed in front of her. She saw that they had managed to squeeze Ash in at Brock's table by moving one of the prettiest of her island girlfriends over to the table with the gym staff. Brock was going to be terribly disappointed. Such a shame.

He continued to watch her, trying to decipher her mood. It was hard to tell either way. Misty may forgive Rudy so easily, but Ash couldn’t. Being around the guy for more than a few minutes made Ash want to punch him in the face for some reason. There was something off about him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Though there was the history there. Misty didn’t know about it, as far as Ash knew. He could tell her, of course, but he felt it wasn’t his place. He wasn’t one to get involved with her relationship, as much as he wanted to. He always strived to do the right thing—he wasn’t about to ruin Misty’s happiness, even if he did suspect that he was starting to harbor deep feelings for her.

Sensing his eyes were still on her, Misty glanced up from her seating chart. He quickly diverted his attention back to the television. No one else seemed to notice.  Maybe she was just imagining it. Was she going crazy? Was this all in her head? She stared back down at her seating chart. She must have been imagining it, she told herself. Why would he be looking at her like that anyway?

 

Later that night, Ash found himself in a similar room in the upstairs of the gym. This one, however, had a couple of cots. Misty had explained that it was meant for challengers to stay, but was very rarely used. It may not have been much, but lying on that cot felt amazing for his tired joints. They must have traversed at least ten miles that day. Misty and her sisters were insane.

Ash flipped on his side, head resting in his palm, elbow digging into the cot. He glanced over at Brock who was unfolding his blanket and draping it over his own cot. He had been staying at Misty’s house in one of the guest rooms, but with all of her sisters there, it was now best to stay at the gym. Ash was a bit thankful. It was nice to have some company.

Ash was finally able to do what he had been dying to do all day—talk to Brock about the current situation. It hadn’t been for long before Ash launched into the story of Misty’s drunken invitation and how he took her up on the offer. He also told him about what had happened when he first arrived that morning. Brock took a long pause before responding.

“So that’s why you came,” he said. “And here I thought that you came to prevent her wedding from even happening.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re in love with her,” Brock replied, deadpan.

Ash turned scarlet. “W-what? Why would you say that?”

“Because you are.”

“No I’m not—”

“Oh come on, Ash,” Brock said. “Think about it.”

Ash stared at him, incredulous. What was he going on about? How could he think that he was in love with Misty? It was preposterous. He might have been having weird, intangible feelings for her at the moment, but that didn’t mean that he was _in love with her._ It was Misty! It wasn’t as if he stayed up all night thinking about her and the fact that her happiness was most important to him—oh no. Crap. Brock was right. He was in love with her. How could he have not seen it before?

“Shit,” he muttered. “I’m in love with her…”

“I don’t understand why you are torturing yourself,” Brock commented, shaking him from his thoughts. “If it were me, I wouldn’t hang around.”

“Yeah, well,” Ash replied. “That’s why you’re you, and I’m me.”

“A complete masochist.”

“Huh?” Ash said, narrowing his eyes. “What’s that?”

“Never mind,” Brock muttered. “It’s getting late. We better get some sleep. Got a busy day watching you pine over an almost-married woman ahead of me.”

“Oh shut up,” Ash said, suppressing a yawn. He flopped down on his side as Brock shut off the light. Pikachu remained asleep as he yanked the blanket over his shoulders. He curled up, pulling his knees up so his feet were no longer sticking out at the end. With no closer to a resolution than prior to talking to Brock, Ash let his body succumb to sleep.

 


	10. Water Breaking

 

            The next day went about uneventfully. They had spent it down by the beach. Ash had tried his hand at fishing, but nothing was biting, only adding to his internal frustration. The sun was scorching as he sat there, trying to suppress his yawns. He had been able to fall asleep easily, but staying in that state was another story all together. He had been tossing and turning all night, thinking of nothing but Misty.

            What was he going to do about her? He was here to attend her wedding—something that he secretly hoped that she would cancel. It was so frustrating. The worst part about it was that he kept getting the inkling that there was something between them—some chemistry that one couldn't force. It was just so easy being with her. He didn't have to think about what he was doing or stress about what he wanted to say. He could just be.

            She seemed happy with Rudy, though. That was the problem. Though he had witnessed them in a heated argument and Ash tended to hate the guy, she appeared to be far from miserable. She was getting all that she ever wanted. It was the only reason that he was able to sit back and watch her go. If she gave any indication that she felt anything for him or was unhappy, he would fight for her in a heartbeat.

 

            “Hey, you okay? You've hardly eaten anything.”

            Ash looked up from his half-eaten hamburger to see Brock staring at him intently from across the table. They were sitting in Misty's kitchen, eating dinner, or Pikachu's case, a whole bottle of ketchup. The girls were upstairs getting ready for Misty's bachelorette party. Ash didn't reply, taking another bite of his hamburger. He chewed it slowly before swallowing. It slid down his throat, but did nothing to clear the lump he had been feeling all day.

            “Misty?”

Ash nodded.

            “You know you can always leave.”

“You know I can't,” he replied. “I made such a scene even coming here in the first place. It would raise questions if I were to leave now. Not to mention, Misty would be pissed at me, and I can't have that. That would make things so much worse.”

            “Worse than watching her marry another man?”

            “Yeah,” Ash replied. “Because in that world, she hates me.”

“You’re hopeless.”

“I know.”

“So Rudy’s also having his bachelor party tonight.”

“And?”

“You should come. I’m sure he’s having a few strippers. It’ll be a lot of fun. It might get your mind off of things.”

“No way.”

“Oh come on, Ash.”

“I’m not about to go to the bachelor party of the guy who is marrying the girl I’m in love with.”

“Okay fair point.”

Brock stood and walked his empty plate to the sink. He turned on the water and proceeded to wash it, leaving it in the strainer when he was done. His stomach churning too much to continue with his meal, Ash cleared off the rest of his plate into the trash and proceeded to do the same. Brock took Ash’s plate and washed it for him, placing it next to his in the strainer.

“Well, I’m going to head out,” Brock said. “I’m going to crash his bachelor party. I’m not going to pass up the opportunity of strippers.”

“Traitor,” Ash said, half-jokingly.

“Like I said, you could always—”

Ash shot him a look, and he immediately backed off.

“All right. All right. I get it. I’ll go.”

Brock left the room as Ash plopped back down in his seat. Pikachu was still happily eating his ketchup. He sighed and rested his head in his folded arms. What was he going to do?

 

It was well past sunset. Blackness surrounded the group of young women camped out on the beach. The moon was full and round, the stars danced around it as it provided their only light other than the large bonfire that blazed in the middle of the sand. It was quiet. The sole sounds that could be heard were the waves crashing gently against the shore and the faint crackling of the fire. It burned bright, casting a circle of light that extended to the women sitting in the sand, clad in bikinis and cover-ups. Half-empty bottles of tequila were littered across the beach around them.

Misty pulled her wrap-around dress around her tighter. It was plain, aqua with ruffles on the shoulders. A chill ran through her as she threw on the thin white shawl that had been lying next to her. She took a swig of her own bottle, staring mindlessly into the fire. This was her sisters’ idea of a good time? She half-expected at least _something_ fun, like some male strippers or something. Without the alcohol, the night would have been a total bust.

She glanced at her sisters, who were happily chatting away with a Gina and Victoria—two of her friends from the island. Misty couldn’t understand it. How could they be so laid-back and have fun just sitting here? Misty groaned. She half-expected that they would have taken her to a club on one of the neighboring island at least. Were they trying to kill her with boredom? She eyed her sisters suspiciously. Daisy probably thought that she had had enough fun on her own over the last few days, or something.

Lily dug out a box of graham crackers and a bag of marshmallows out of her bag. She began to open chocolate bars while Violet procured some sticks. Some of the girls snatched them eagerly, sticking marshmallows on the ends of them and thrusting them into the fire. Misty rolled her eyes. S’mores and tequila? Her sisters really sucked at planning bachelorette parties. Or maybe they just sucked at planning _her_ bachelorette party. She had a half mind to run back up to the cottage and snuggle in bed with a good book and some hot chocolate. Maybe see what Ash was up to—anything but here.

She sighed, kicking off her sandals. She stood, brushing the sand off of her legs before walking across to the shoreline, her feet sinking with every step. She got to the water’s edge, the water flowing over her toes. It was chilly. She looked out at the vast ocean in front of her. It was calm, peaceful. It was unlike her tumultuous thoughts, which couldn’t seem to leave her alone.

It was as though the universe were reading her thoughts. As she stared wistfully out into the distance, something else caught her eye. She glanced to her right. Out in the distance a few hundred feet away, she saw someone sitting on a large rock, peering out at the ocean just as she had been. Taking a bit of a closer look, she realized who it was—Ash.

She paused, contemplating her next move. She glanced back at the girls. No one was paying any attention to her. No one would care if she snuck away for a few minutes. Adjusting her shawl, she silently made her way over to him.

“Ash?” She asked tentatively as she approached him.

He jumped at the sound of her voice. He turned his head to face her, looking distressed by the fact that she had caught him out here, which begged the question—why was he out here to begin with?

“Come to crash my bachelorette party?”

Ash was alarmed by her statement. “N-no! I just came out here to think.”

“I see.” She raised her eyebrow at him. Sitting down next to him, she was determined to get to the bottom of that statement. What did he need to come out here to think about? She had to know. Besides, it beat anything her sisters would come up with at her lame excuse for a bachelorette party.

“Where's Pikachu?”

“Back at your house. I couldn't tear him away from the bottle of ketchup.”

“I think that you need to get him enrolled in some rehab then.”

“Maybe,” Ash chuckled.

They sat together on the rock, not saying a word to each other for some time. Misty gazed out at the ocean. She watched as it gently kissed the shore, breaking a little more roughly against the small rocks that were below them. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest. She felt his gaze scorching her skin. It was too dark to see the blush etched across her face, though.

“So, why are you really out here?”

“I wasn't lying when I said that I came out here to think.”

“Yeah, but—” She scooted a bit closer to him. He swallowed his heart back down. “That doesn't tell me what's wrong.”

“Who said that there's anything wrong?”

“Ash—”

He exhaled. What could he say to her? How much could he tell her before it revealed his dark secret—that he was hopelessly in love with her? _She's getting married,_ he reminded himself for the hundredth time that day. That was the truth of the situation. She was getting married and wouldn't want him anyway.

She couldn't take her eyes off him. The suspense was killing her. What was he going to say? The only sound she could hear was the pounding inside of her chest. Why was she feeling this way? Ash looked back at her, their eyes locking. Misty was entranced by those chocolate brown eyes--always full of wonder, and this time, muddled with despair. Ash cleared his throat suddenly, startling her slightly.

“Do you ever get the feeling that something is missing in your life?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like you've gotten everything you could have ever dreamed of, but for some reason, it's not enough. There's always something that you need that's not there, but the problem is that you don't know exactly what it is.”

Misty inhaled sharply. She understood what he was talking about—that insatiable hole that could never be filled, never leave you satisfied. She knew it very well. She felt like that every single day.

“I understand,” she said, bringing her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees. Even though her heart was beating out of her chest, being with Ash was extremely comforting. When she was with him, she felt like she could say anything to him, and he wouldn't judge her. She could never do this with Rudy. She was too afraid that he would say something to make her feel bad, even if it were unintentional.

 Being around Ash was completely different. She could say whatever she wanted, and she knew that he wouldn't judge her. She could really be herself when she was with him.

“You do?” he asked

            “Yeah,” she said. “I’ve been feeling kind of that way lately, you know. I think with the wedding and everything, it's been really stressful….but I don't know. I mean I love Rudy, but sometimes I wonder if I chose the wrong path. I mean what would my life have been like if I hadn't stayed in the first place? I’ll never know.”

“Are you saying that you regret being with him?”

 

            “Not exactly,” she said. “I mean, maybe it's just some cold feet, but I often wonder if I've made the right decisions in my life. I always wanted someone like him to spend the rest of my life with, but at the same time, I always had dreams of becoming the greatest water Pokemon trainer. Being with him is great, and I really do love him, but at the same time it feels like I've had to compromise my other dreams in order to fulfill this one.”

“But does that really make him the right person for you?”

“How can you say that?”

“Well,” he said. “You shouldn't have to give up on your other dreams just to find love.”

She unwrapped herself, lowering her legs and placing her arms behind her back, her hands pressed against the cool rock. She thought about his words. Could it really be that simple? In her heart, she wondered if this was the right thing, but she knew it was too late to change anything now. The invitations had already been sent out. The guests were going to be arriving any day. The wedding would still go on. She wondered though if in ten years from then she would regret doing this. Was loving someone enough to really mean that you are meant to be with them?”

“How would you know?” She asked. “What do you know about love?”

            “Well I—”

“See!” she said almost accusingly. “You don't know anything about love, do you? I mean sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the one you love. It's all about compromise. But your love is only for Pokemon. You don't have to compromise with that, do you?”

“That's not fair, Ash said. Just because I haven't been in a relationship doesn't mean I don't know about love.”

            “Oh please,” she said. “You don't know the first thing about it.”

That wasn't true, he mused but, she didn't know that. What should he do? What should he say? He didn't want to do anything that would sway her decision to marry Rudy. She did mention she did say that she wasn't a hundred percent happy with the situation however he didn't want her to make the snap decision he wouldn't want it done that way. But how to tell her he knew about love without revealing the truth?

“I do know how it feels he said passionately. I know what it is to love someone.”

            “Really now?” she said, her stomach now in knots.

            “There's this girl,” he started. “And I’ve loved her for a while, but it took me a long time to realize that I have these feelings for her. And I want to tell her, I really do, but I don't think it would be the right thing to do. I mean it would just it would ruin things, and I don't think she would feel the same way anyway. So it's best I just keep it to myself.”

            “Why don't you just tell her?”

“I can't.”

            “I don't see why not.”

“I just can't, okay?”

            “Ash,” she said. “Who is it?”

            “I—”

She didn't know what made her do it. Maybe it was the alcohol flowing through her veins. Maybe it was the years of harbored feelings finally breaking to the surface. Maybe it was the fact that in a few days time, she would no longer be free. Whatever the reason, in the matter of seconds, she found herself leaning forward and crashing her lips against his like the ocean breaking against the jetty.

Ash's eyes grew wide. What was happening? What was she doing? _She's supposed to be getting married._ His heart was hammering. What did this mean? Once the initial shock had worn off, he started to reciprocate. He closed his eyes, embracing the moment. Wasn't this what he had been wanting?

His mind had shut down. The words _'she's getting married’_ faded away and became the dying embers that were his thoughts. There was no thinking, only feeling. He pushed his body against hers, deepening their kiss. He cupped her jaw as he let his emotions take over. If he could, he would have stayed this way forever.

Her whole body was on fire. Every inch of her was burning with desire. She just couldn't take it anymore. The tension was too much for her to handle. She had to do something about it. This was the only thing that her instincts could come up with. She needed to be kissing him. She needed _him._ In this moment, it was Ash. She couldn't live her life without him.

He groaned as she slipped in her tongue, gently exploring his mouth. He joined her, savoring every moment. Their tongues danced intricately as the waves crashed against their rock, gently spraying them with salty mist.

 

Feeling the ocean against her face, Misty quickly came back to her senses. What was she doing? Rudy would be furious of he knew, maybe even call off the wedding. How could she betray him like this? What kind of person was she? All she ever did was cause everyone else pain.

She broke away from Ash suddenly. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Ash gazed back at her, his expression split between confused and concerned.

“I'm so sorry, Ash,” she sobbed before scrambling to her feet. She stumbled as she jumped off the rock, speeding down toward the other end of the beach, headed back to the others.

Ash tried to call her back. It was no use. She was gone. He sat there with a hand against his lips, feeling more perplexed than ever. He had been left to stare out into the darkness.


	11. Secrets and Lies

Misty woke the next morning, her body aching with a mixture of hangover and shame. How could she have kissed Ash like that? She groaned, throwing the pillow over her head, trying to drown out the sounds of the birds coming through the window. She extended her arm out, feeling the other side of the bed for a body. It was empty. Rudy was already up, to Misty's surprise. He normally was up before her with the gym and everything, but she expected him to still be asleep, considering that his bachelor party had also been the previous night.

If it had been her choice, she would have spent the rest of the day in bed. Hiding in here was a much better option than actually facing Ash. Ash...what was she going to say to him? The kiss had been a one-off, just a way to get out some pent up frustration. It's not like it meant anything…right?

What if it meant something to him? He did kiss her back. She hadn't imagined that. He seemed to be quite enjoying their make-out session, by her standards. She then recalled him mentioning having feelings for a girl and that telling her would ruin everything. Apparently there was another girl anyway, so it probably meant nothing more than physical to him either then. He would feel differently if she were that girl, but there was no way she was the girl that he was _in love with_. She silently scoffed. Ash Ketchum in love? Please. Hell would freeze over before that would happen.

She giggled to herself, but then stopped dead, a cold feeling taking over her. What if—what if it were true though? And the girl— _oh god._ Realization hit her like a brick wall. What if he _had_ been talking about her all along?

 

She covered her face with the duvet, her cheeks burning. Oh, this was bad, like really bad. _Shit._ What was she going to do? Either way, she was going to break someone's heart. How could she be such an idiot? She felt like she was going to be sick. Since when did she become someone who didn’t care who she hurt as long as she got what she wanted?

“Misty! Breakfast is ready!” She heard her sister's voice carry up the stairs.

She groaned once more, throwing off the covers. She sat up, stretching her back. There was no use hiding, she told herself as she swung her legs out and stood up. She would have to face everyone eventually. Might as well get it out of the way now.

 

        She entered the kitchen, taking in the aroma of waffles. She could see that Brock had taken out a huge waffle iron and was ladling some batter into it. There was already a huge stack of them on a plate to his right. On the table, she could see various toppings, including strawberries and maple syrup. It sounded good to her. She needed something like this to soak up all of the alcohol from the night before.

        She looked over and saw that Rudy was sitting at the table, drinking his cup of black coffee. Daisy had made herself a large iced coffee with what appeared to be copious amounts of sugar and cream, judging by the color of the liquid. She sipped it from a straw as she sat next to Rudy. Misty balked when she saw Ash sitting at the far end of the table with a half-empty glass of orange juice. Brock walked over and placed the giant platter full of Belgium waffle corners on the table, causing Misty to jump. Her stomach grumbled at the smell of them. She sat down in between her sister and Rudy, careful not to make eye contact with Ash. Rudy planted a kiss on her cheek. She smiled back at him sheepishly. Ash had the sudden desire to break something.

        “Jeeze Brock,” Misty said, grabbing a waffle with her fork. “What are we going to do when you go back home?”

        “Starve,” he replied with a grin. “Eat up! I didn't slave away at a hot waffle iron for nothing, you know!”

        She ladled some strawberries over them before taking a large scoop of the whipped cream and dolloping it on top. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Ash pour some chocolate syrup over his own waffles. His hand brushed against hers as he also went for the whipped cream. Her stomach did a flip.

        “We should get him to be our live-in chef,” Rudy said, jarring Misty back from her thoughts. “That would be nice.”

        “He won't do it,” Misty said. “Not unless you promised him all the gorgeous women he could ever desire.”

        “You'd never find enough,” Brock said with a laugh before sitting down to join them.

        “Where's Lily and Violet?” Misty asked.

        “Upstairs, still in bed,” Daisy said, massaging her temples. “They're still wiped out from last night.”

        “How?” Misty asked, incredulous. “We barely did anything last night!”

        “What are you saying?” Daisy said, glowering at her.

        “Nothing,” Misty replied quickly before turning back to her breakfast. “Nevermind.”

        Daisy said nothing. Instead she raised her eyebrows, looking down at her plate. She shrugged her shoulders. She was pissed. She knew that Misty hadn't enjoyed the party that they threw for her. Misty shook her head. Oh well. They could be pissed at her as much as they wanted. The party pretty much sucked, and that was a fact.

        Daisy lifted her head, turning to Rudy. “So...what did you guys get up to last night?” She asked with a wink.

        Rudy nearly choked on his coffee. “W-what? I-I mean we didn't do much. Just drank some beer and uhhh played board games...yeah.”

        Misty and Daisy snorted. He wasn't even trying to be convincing. Misty smiled. He was actually very cute when he was flustered like this.

        “So,” Misty said. “No strippers or anything?”

        “Uhh—”

        “You're such a liar,” she said with a laugh. “You know I don't really care right?”

        She didn’t care one bit about it. She had no right to be mad at him for that, for one thing. If anyone had a right to be mad at the other person, it was Rudy. She did cheat on him after all, but he couldn't know that. She hated keeping a secret like this from him, but the truth would kill him.

        “It was great!” Brock piped in. “There were these three girls, and we actually saw their n—”

        “I don't need to know the details!” Misty cut him off, her face reddening.

        “Speaking of details,” Daisy said. “Where did you run off to last night?”

        It was now Misty's turn to choke. She sputtered on her coffee as her blood ran cold. So, someone had noticed her absence. Shit. And of all people! Daisy, though she may seem like a bit of an airhead, was quite astute. How the hell was she going to get out of this one?

        “Umm,” she said. “I just went on a walk, that's all.”

        She could feel Ash staring at her. She refused to look at him. What was she supposed to do? Admit to kissing him to her sister with their best friend and her _fiancé_ watching? Oh please.

        “By yourself?”

        “Yeah of course, by myself. Who else would have been with me?”

        She took a chance and glanced at Ash. He was no longer looking at her. Instead, he was stabbing at his waffles angrily. He shoved them in his mouth without a second glance at anyone. Misty's heart plummeted into the pit of her stomach. He looked miserable.

        Daisy eyed her suspiciously, but didn’t say anything. She finished off her waffled with a few more bites and downed the rest of her iced coffee with one gulp. She got up from the table suddenly. Misty raised her eyebrow at her.

        “Misty, we have to go,” she said.

        “Huh?” Misty replied. “Go where?”

        “We have to go pick up my bridesmaid dress, remember? Why else do you think I’m up right now?”

        Misty clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh I completely forgot,” she admitted before taking a few more bites of her food before completely abandoning it. She scraped off her plate in the trash and left it in the sink. She went back to the table and drank the rest of her coffee, not bothering to sit back down.

        Once done, she placed it in the sink with their plates.  Misty swiftly gave Rudy a kiss before joining her sister at the door. Ash wanted to murder someone. Brock shook his head at him. This was going to be a long day.

 

        Misty had only gotten a few feet down the hallway when she heard someone calling her name. She whipped around to see that she was face to face with Ash. Her heart gave a jolt at the sight of his face mere inches in front of her.

        “Ash, what are you—”

        “Can we talk?” he muttered lowly in her ear. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks with every second that they were together.

“Are you serious right now?” she hissed. She caught Daisy in the corner of her eye. Her sister was clearly staring at them. She was screwed. “You want to do this _here?_ ”

“We need to talk about—”

“There's nothing to talk about,” she snapped, cutting him off. “At least not now, not here.”

“But Mist—”

“I can't deal with this right now,” she said. She spun the other way, her heart hammering. How could he think that this was an appropriate time to discuss their kiss? Was he that dense? She shook her head slightly before walking forward, joining Daisy. She grabbed her sister's wrist and said, “Let's go.” Misty dragged her sister down the hallway and out of sight, leaving Ash not sure if he wanted to punch a wall or cry.

 

“Looks great, Daisy,” Misty said, her voice cold and distant.

They were at the tailor shop on a neighboring island. Daisy was trying on her dress, a strapless chiffon evening gown in periwinkle blue. Lily and Violet were wearing similar dresses, with slight differences to better flatter their bodies. Daisy was picking up the dress after some last minute alterations, something that the other two hadn't needed. With the wedding only two days away, they needed to pick it up and make sure that everything was all right.

Daisy stood there in front of the mirror, admiring herself. You would have thought it was her own wedding, with the way she kept staring at herself. However, at the sound of Misty's voice, she paused. She twirled around and hopped off the platform. She sat down next to her youngest sister with a warm smile on her face, but her eyes were fraught with concern.

“Misty, cheer up,” she said. When she didn't get the response she was looking for, she added, “You're getting married in two days!”

“Yeah…”

“Baby sis, are you saying that you don't want to get married anymore.”

“I-I don't know…”

“What happened?”

Misty peered back at her wide-eyed. “Wha-what do you mean?”

Daisy narrowed her eyes at her. “Don't play dumb with me, Misty,” she said accusingly. “I _saw_ the way you and Ash were acting this morning. You're going to tell me the truth _now._ ”

“I went on a walk last night.”

“And?”

“Fine!” Misty exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. “I ran into Ash sitting out on the rocks. I joined him for a bit, and we got to talking, and that's about it.”

“I know there's more to it than that.”

“...and I might have made out with him,” Misty added in a barely audible whisper.

“Misty!” Daisy yelled, flying up from the stool. “How could you?”

“It was a mistake!”

“You need to tell Rudy.”

“No!”

“Well if you don't tell him,” Daisy said, folding her arms. “I will.”

Misty latched onto her arm, tears pooling in her eyes. “Please don't. It was a mistake. It won't happen again.”

Daisy softened as she took her arm back. She sat back down next to Misty. “All right. I won't say anything. I just sure hope you know what you're doing.”

 

        Ash and Brock sat on the beach that afternoon, watching the waves crash against the sand. It was hot as they lounged, casually sunning themselves. Pikachu was playing in the sand, busy building a tiny sandcastle. Ash smiled affectionately at him. Normally he would have been delighted to join him in his little project. However, he had a mission to complete. He needed to chat with his best friend—needed his advice. He glanced over and saw that Brock was ogling at some girls who were also tanning on the beach. They were all clad in bikinis, and Brock looked like he was ready to abandon Ash to go and join them. Ash observed his friend, shaking his head. Some things would never change. Why did he even bother sometimes?

        “Ash, why do we have to be so far down the beach?” He whined, still not taking his eyes off of the girls.

        “Oh relax,” Ash said. “We can go back over there once I talk to you.”

        “I get that you want to talk,” Brock replied. “But does it have to happen over here?”

        Ash peered around to make sure that there was no one else around us. “This conversation needs happen while we’re alone. I don’t want anyone overhearing…that could be bad if the wrong people know before I figure out what I want to do. Like we’re talking a disaster of epic proportions here.”

        “Ash, what are you rambling on about?”

        “Okay,” Ash said as Brock started drinking his lemonade. Ash’s own drink lay next to him, untouched. “So last night, I came out to the rocks over there to do some thinking—soul-searching—whatever you want to call it. I didn’t realize that Misty was having her bachelorette party nearby because all of a sudden she was _there,_ and I wanted to jump in the ocean and swim away.”

        Brock snorted. Ash glared at him. “Anyway,” he continued. “We got to talking about some deep shit or whatever and everything was going fine, and then all of a sudden she’s kissing me.”

        Brock choked on his lemonade. “S-she w-what?”

        “Yeah,” Ash replied, rubbing his temples. It was almost as if he was getting a perpetual headache at this point with everything that was happening. It was enough for anyone’s head to spin.

        “So…” Brock said, raising an eyebrow. “How was it?” Ash rolled his eyes at him.

        “It was good,” he started. “Before she all of a sudden panicked and ran off…and now she’s avoiding me, so that part isn’t great.”

        “Well, she is getting married.”

        “I’m well-aware of that,” Ash snapped.

        “No, I mean,” Brock said. “She’s supposed to be getting married to Rudy. She’s probably avoiding you because she’s feeling lost and confused. I would give her some space to figure things out.”

        “The wedding is in two days.”

        “Or don’t, I guess,” Brock said shaking his head. They were always going to do their best to put him in an early grave, weren’t they? “Ash, do you really think that she’s going to forget about Rudy, and you two are going to run-off into the sunset all happily ever-after or something?”

        “Uhh—”

        “Ash, don’t you think that maybe you should let her go? I mean it sucks, but what else can you really do?”

        “I can at least talk to her,” he said. He stood, brushing off the sand. He tilted his head in the direction of the ocean in front of them. “Mind watching Pikachu for a bit?”

        Brock sighed. “Fine,” he said. “I just sure hope you know what you are doing.”

        “Hey Pikachu,” Ash called over, ignoring him. “You mind hanging out with Brock for a bit here while I go back up to Misty’s?”

        Pikachu turned to him. “Pikapi chupi Pikachupi?”

        “Yeah something like that,” Ash replied to his Pokemon. “I’ll see you later,” he added to Brock before he spun around and headed back toward the cliffs in the direction of Misty’s seaside cottage.


	12. The Fork in the Road

 

            Daisy and Misty arrived back at the cottage a few hours later. They had gone shopping for a bit as well and succeeded in finding Daisy shoes to go with her bridesmaid dress. A few hours had gone by when they got back to the cottage. The house seemed quiet and empty. Lily and Violet must have gone down to the beach to tan or something. Misty couldn’t imagine them doing anything else. Once they had gone through the door, Daisy went upstairs to put her things away while Misty went to go into the kitchen.

She walked to the kitchen, lost in thought. She didn’t notice that she was not alone. In fact, she nearly had a heart attack when she literally ran into Ash in the doorway. She panicked and immediately did an about-face, trying to run away from him. He caught her by the wrist.

            “Hey,” he said. “You're not going to run away from me this time.” He pulled her back into the kitchen where he knew that they would at least have some privacy. She glared back at him, her mouth contorted into a deep frown.

            “Ash, I don't want to do this.” She flinched as he narrowed his eyes at her, clearly determined to act otherwise.

            “What the hell was last night then?” he asked, taking a step forward, his voice raised.

            She took a step back from him. “It was a mistake. It should have never happened, and it's not going to happen again.”

            “I don't get you,” he said. “One minute you seem like you're interested in me and then you go kissing me, but then the next, you run away and go back to Rudy. So what do you want Misty? Because I can’t take this going back and forth. It’s not fair to me.”

            “I-I don't know.”

            “Well maybe this should help you figure it out,” he said before crashing his lips against hers. She stood there stunned, not sure what to do. For the second time in under twenty-four hours, they were kissing each other. This was wrong. She should have been kissing Rudy instead of Ash. However, as the seconds moved on, she started to not care as much.

            Desire took over as she started kissing him back before realizing what she was doing and that it was in a place that she could be seen by the wrong person. Daisy was in the bedroom above them. She would be done any second. They would be seen. Misty had promised that the two of them kissing would never happen again. Well, there went that promise. Either way, Daisy couldn’t know.

Misty came to her senses. She had to get out of there and fast before Daisy caught her. She put her hands against his chest and pushed him away. She wiped her mouth with a shaky hand, scowling at him.

            “What the hell do you think you're doing?”

            He gawked at her. “Trying to get you to decide because apparently you're confused, but I'm not confused. I know how I feel about you.”

            “This is not happening,” she said, starting to pace back and forth. Did he really just say that? Did he actually—? No. She pushed the thought out of her head. “Ash, I—we can't do this.”

            “Why not?”

            “What about Rudy?”

            “What about him?”

            “I can’t do this to him! I promised to marry him, and that's what I'm going to do.”

            “But Misty—”

            “No. This conversation is _over_.”

She turned around and stormed out of the kitchen, not bothering to look back at Ash as she went. She marched down the hall, turned the handle to the front door forcibly. It flew open as she crossed the threshold. She went on, letting it slam back against the house behind her.

            She couldn't do this. She knew that she couldn’t do this. It wasn't right. Ash needed to understand that. They would go their separate ways. That's what was meant to be. She had to get as far away from his him as she could. Being around him was not a good idea. This would happen again if she did.

She started down the path that led around the cottage and down to the beach. It was mid afternoon at this point. The sun was still hot, but starting to be at least tolerable. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. This was not going well. It was not going as planned. Why did she have to be so stupid? Inviting him to come to her wedding was the worst mistake. It was only causing one problem after another.

She continued walking, deep in thought. She had been honest when she told Ash that she didn't know what she wanted. She was in front of a fork—two paths for her life lay before her. She was the lost traveler—unsure of which path would bring her to the correct destination. She was traversing the forest without a map. It was immense and dark, thick with trees, blocking out all sunlight.

            There she was, inches from the finish line, and all she could do was stop and stare at it. She just had to get through the next two days, and that would be it—she would be married. Why was it so hard to do that? Why was it so difficult to just let him go? He hadn’t even been a thought in her mind a week ago, and now—now she wasn’t quite sure.

Ash had been locked away in a special drawer within her heart for so long. Letting him out right before she was supposed to get her happily ever after was so cruel. She had always believed fate to have been kind to her. Perhaps, that wasn't so.

As she continued down the path, she considered her feelings for Ash. What was he to her? Was it a silly crush that she would just get over? Just a fling? A way to blow off some steam before she was tied down forever? Or was there something more to it.

She reached the end, where the beach began, feeling the spray of the salty sea on her face. The smell of the sea calmed her nerves, gave her an ounce of clarity. She loved him. There was no doubt about it now. Even though she loved him, they couldn't be together. This was the way it had to be. She would have to forget what her heart was screaming at her.

She gazed longingly at the vast ocean, a tear sneaking out of her eye and rolling down her cheek. She wiped it away flippantly. How she wished she could just jump into the sea and swim away forever. It would be easier to run away than have to deal with her feelings—feelings that caused destruction and pain wherever they went. Was she more of a burden than anything?

“Pikachupi!”

She peered to her right at the sound of Pikachu's voice. He was waving at her with both of his yellow arms. In front of him was a small sand castle. A smile tugged at her lips. Even after a decade, she could still count on Pikachu for a pick-me-up. She looked further to the right and saw that Brock was also there, ogling at some of the women on the beach. She sighed. He needed to get a steady girlfriend and settle down. Witnessing all of his failed attempts was beginning to get exhausting.

She peered around, taking a good look at the women as well. Her anxiety calmed down a bit when she saw that neither Violet nor Lily was on the beach. She didn’t have the energy to deal with them right then. She strolled over to Brock and Pikachu, her flip-flops sinking in the sand as she went. She plopped down next to Pikachu. She scratched behind his ears, and Pikachu responded with a cry of delight.

“Do you want a friend to play with, Pikachu?” she asked the electric rodent.

“Cha!”

She grinned broadly as she pulled out a pokeball from her pocket. She pushed the button in the center. With a flash of white light, a white Pokemon with a spiky head and translucent wings emerged. Even though he only remembered it as a baby, Pikachu recognized Togetic's smell, waving his arms excitedly, happy to be reunited with his old friend. Togetic was as delighted, crying happily as it flew down next to Pikachu. The two of them started to expand on Pikachu's sand castle. Misty turned toward Brock.

“You seem to be having fun,” she commented.

“Not as much fun as you and Ash seem to be having,” he responded, looking at her from over the top of his sunglasses.

“ _He fucking told you!”_ she shouted, so loud that Pikachu and Togetic both jumped. Sparks flew out of Pikachu's cheeks. She glanced around wildly, looking at the beach goers that were now staring at her. She waved apologetically at them before burying her head in her hands.

“Of course he told me,” Brock said. “Did you really think he wouldn't?”

She lifted her head up. “I'm going to murder him.”

“Give him a break, Misty,” Brock replied. “May I remind you that you kissed him? He came to me for advice...whether or not he took that advice is another story…”

“What did you say to him?” she pressed. “Did you tell him to go pursue me or something? Because if you did—”

Brock cut her off. “No, I told him to let you go and move on, but he didn't listen to me. You know how Ash is. He completely acts on his heart and his heart alone.”

She exhaled, playing with the sand with her hand. She dragged her index finger against the wet sand, drawing squiggles with no artistic intention. Pikachu paused, his work on the sand castle construction forgotten. He hopped over to Misty and patted her thigh gently. She smiled back at him and reached over and patted his head.

He was right. Ash always had been that way, since the moment that she met him. He was headstrong and stubborn, but at the same time, he was kind and good. Like Brock said, he never let his head get in the way. Although, Misty suspected that it was due to there being nothing up there anyway, but that was beside the point.

“I don't know what to do Brock.”

 

Later that night, Ash was moodily throwing his pillows on the cot when Brock arrived with Pikachu. The Pokemon leapt out of Brock's arms and on to the lumpy mattress. Ash stared at Pikachu on top of the half-made cot, biting his tongue. Normally, he wouldn't have cared. He would have even laughed it off. That night, he felt constantly on edge.

“So,” Brock said. “I see your talk with Misty went well.”

“I'm guessing that she told you.”

Brock shrugged. “Basically.”

Ash sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Is she pissed about me kissing her?”

“You did what?”

“She didn't tell you that?”

“No, she left that part out,” Brock said, sitting down on his cot. He stared Ash down. “I'm telling you, you should just forget it and move on. This is just going to cause so many problems for you both.”

Ash said nothing in response. He considered Brock’s words carefully. What was the point? No matter what he did, no matter how much he felt for her, she was still going to marry Rudy. Nothing was going to change that.

“Maybe you're right.”

“I am?”

“Yeah,” Ash said. “No matter what I could do, she's not going to break her commitment to him. But there's something that I know I need to do for her in any case, but I need your help to do it.”

Brock cocked an eyebrow. “Sure. What do you need?”

“First, we're going to need a boat.”


	13. Parting Ways

Chapter Thirteen

The following night fell quickly upon all of them. The sun was setting, casting rays of scarlet and gold over them as they all stood out by the cliff going through the wedding procession. They were behind schedule. Her sisters had taken too long getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. Misty glanced down at her watch, waiting at the end of the rows of chairs. They had to hurry this up. They were due to meet about fifty guests in about forty-five minutes.

She hadn't seen Ash all day. He and Brock had run off to do some last minute errand. She strongly suspected that Ash realized that he needed something decent to wear at the last minute. Typical Ash. It was one of the things about him that could really get under her skin. However, at the same time, she did find it kind of endearing, deep down.

One more day, she told herself. That's how much longer she needed to get through. One more day and she would be a married woman. She had fewer than twenty-four hours left. She could do this, she thought as the music played for her to walk down the aisle.

 

Ash sat next to Brock at one of the tables adorned with white linen tablecloths. He stared at the full buffet in front him, his stomach making obnoxiously loud gurgling sounds. If only he could just pick off something without anyone noticing.  Just a piece of ham or something—anything to settle his stomach before the meal. He surveyed the area. It was no use. The place was teeming with wait staff as more guests started arriving. He sighed looking down at his empty plate. What good was coming here if he couldn’t even indulge in the food?

He looked over at his best friend. Brock’s concerns were of a different matter completely. His attentions were taken by the beautiful women who kept walking by them. They were all dressed up with their glittering jewelry and evening gowns, some of which had plunging necklines and high slits on the side. No wonder Brock was distracted. If circumstances had been different, Ash might have been as well.

The place was swarming with people, buzzing with excitement. However, everything stopped the moment she arrived. Everything went silent around him as he watched her walk past, arm linked around Rudy's. Everything about her was beautiful. She was wearing a full-length turquoise dress with strappy heels to match. Her hair was done in a fishtail braid and then secured against her plait, resulting in an intricate and elegant up-do. He hardly recognized her as the tomboy that he met when they were kids. His heart sunk a little bit when she passed them without as much as a glance.

Once the couple had settled into their place at the table reserved for the wedding party, the guests were allowed to grab food from the buffet. Ash wasted no time. He snatched a plate from the end and filled it up to the brim. Might as well get as much as he could from this, he reasoned. Misty caught a glance of him from the corner of her eye. She internally groaned. Typical Ash, she mused. At least this time, he had bothered to put on something decent. He honestly cleaned up pretty nicely. Her cheeks felt flushed as she turned away from him.

Ash returned to the table to find Brock chatting with a woman that he recognized as one of Misty's island friends. He sighed and turned to his plate, from which Pikachu had already started stealing food. Brock was his only friend here, and if he chose to ignore him all night, well Ash didn't know what he was going to do. He didn’t really have anyone to talk to, and how was he meant to know which guests were actually Rudy’s? It didn’t seem like socializing with other guests would be a good idea, giving his current predicament. He scanned across the room, his eyes stopping at the bar on the far end. Yeah, that was it. Getting drunk seemed like a good option at this point. He got up and walked over to the bar.

“What can I get for you?” The tall blonde asked him from behind the counter.

“Your strongest drink, please.”

“Somebody's ready to have a fun night,” she said with a smile as she grabbed a clean glass.

“More like someone's madly in love with the bride.”

“Oh,” she said. She placed his drink down in front of him. “This one's on me then.”

“Thanks,” Ash muttered as he sat down on one of the stools and took a sip.

He stayed there for a while, ordering another drink as soon as he was finished with the previous one. He had been gone for a reasonable amount of time now. Surely Brock would have noticed by now. He looked back at their table and saw Brock trying to flirt with one of the girls, oblivious to her narrowed eyes and fingers drumming against the table. Ash sighed. Obviously, he had been wrong about that. Brock hadn’t realized at all. He panned over and observed Pikachu greedily eating everything off of his plate. Some great friends he had.

He nursed his drink as the DJ started playing and people were filing onto the dance floor. He should have left the bar to find some gorgeous girl to ask to dance. He should have been doing something to move on and forget about Misty. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He watched bitterly as she and Rudy stepped onto the dance floor. The alcohol burned his throat as he couldn’t keep himself from staring at the dancing pair.

This went on for nearly an hour. The alcohol was pumping through his veins. He was buzzed. Screw this. He had to do something, even if it meant punching something or someone. He couldn’t just idle. He needed a distraction of some sort.

When the next song finished, he chance came. The music stopped, and the pair paused and clapped. Rudy whispered something in her ear, gave her a quick kiss, and left. Now was his chance. He slid off the chair, making a beeline for where she stood alone. His heart was hammering. He had to be swift. He didn’t know why Rudy had left and how long it would be until he returned.

He waltzed over to Misty, her back turned. He reached over and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around, her eyes widening at the sight of him.

“Ash, what are you doing?”

Ash extended his arm out. “Wanna dance?”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,” she said.

“Why not?” he huffed. “We’re still friends aren’t we?”

“Oh okay,” she said, wavering. “I guess one song won’t hurt.”

He took her hand into his own, letting the other one rest around her waist. She placed her free hand on top of his shoulder. The music began to play again as they swayed back and forth. Ash kept casting his eyes down at the floor, determined to keep her toes intact. Being a Pokemon trainer for so long didn’t allow for many dance lessons. He swallowed. Other than a few times with his mother before he had even started his Pokemon journey, this was the first time he was truly dancing. The fact that it was with the girl whom he held above all others made it all the more nerve wracking.

She started wistfully out into the distance at the other couples—couples that were dancing much closer together than they. They didn’t have to deal with the fear of the ramifications of getting too close together. He caught her eye for a second and she responded with a warm smile. They could be friends still. She knew that she didn’t want him out of her life. They had to make it work somehow.

He needed to talk to her. Alone. She needed to know that he hadn’t intended for this to go this far. She was his friend. He wanted her to be happy. That was all that really mattered to him at the end of the day. If he couldn’t be the one to make her happy, he wasn’t about to get in the way of the one who could.

He steered her away from the dance floor, breaking away and clasping onto her wrist. He led her to a more secluded area, hidden by a few trees which lay at the edge of the forest. He glanced around. No one seemed to take notice of them. Misty raised her eye brow. What was he doing? She was about to question him when he opened his mouth to speak.

“I'm sorry about yesterday,” he said, casting his eyes down.

Misty was slightly taken aback. Of all the things, she hadn’t been expecting this. Maybe they would be okay after all.

“It's all right.”

But it wasn’t all right. Nothing about this was all right. He was longing for her. He knew that she must be longing for him too underneath all of the bull shit ideas of how her life was supposed to be. He knew—probably better than she—that she was most likely in love with the idea of Rudy. He could be that man for her. He could do everything that Rudy could and more, if she would only give him the chance.

“I—never mind …”

She faced him fully, her eyes sparkling. She was so beautiful in the moonlight. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and kiss her with passion right then and there. It took him all of his self-restraint to not touch her in that moment. The memory of her rejecting his last advances were fresh in his mind, causing an aching tug on his heart.

“What is it, Ash? You can tell me.”

“Is this what you really want?”

“Ash, we talked about this. I'm getting married.”

“You don't have to, you know.”

“I made a commitment,” she said. “I love Rudy, Ash. I'm not going to just leave for—” she made a jester between them with her hands. “For whatever this is.”

“Really, Misty? You're going to be like this?”

A frown formed on her face. “Ash, we kissed, like twice. It doesn't mean anything. You can't seriously—”

“Don’t you dare deny that there’s nothing here between us. I feel it and I know you do too.”

“I—”

He couldn't take it anymore. He pulled her close to him. He could hear her heart beating against his chest. It was fluttering like a little bird. He pulled away slightly, hands firmly pressed on her shoulders. He gazed at her face in the moonlight. Her cheeks were bright and rosy, with a hint of shock in her eyes. Her make-up was subtle. From a distance, he would not have been able to tell that she was even wearing it. He lifted one of his arms and cupped her chin. His hand tilted as he ran it along her jaw line and one of her cheeks. He brushed his thumb against her bottom lip.

In a wave of emotions crashing against the sand, he grabbed the other side of her face and kissed her. Their lips met, pressing against each other as though they had never experienced another human being before in their lives. She pushed up against him, moving her lips. What was one more? She had this one last night of freedom to give into her desires, and she was going to make damn good use of it.

Every emotion that he had ever felt for the women in front of him was put into that kiss.  Every time he set his eyes upon her and felt that everything was as it should be. Every time he had a battle and won and all he could think about was calling her. Every memory that he thought of late at night fondly and suddenly wished that she was with him then. How long had he been in love with her all along?

In a flash of lightning, he realized that with that kiss, he was also saying goodbye.

He would never have her fully. She would always be behind a glass wall—only to view, never to touch. She would never be his. There would always Rudy digging his claws into her. Even if she were to leave with Ash right now—to run away and never look back, the guilt of destroying Rudy's world as he knew it would always be hanging over her head. There was only one thing he could do. He withdrew from her, pulling his body away, stepping back.

“Ash—”

“I love you,” he said as the tears began to form in her eyes. “But clearly you've chosen your path, so I'm going to have to let you go. I wish you a world full of happiness. Goodbye, Misty.”

He gave her a kiss on the cheek, his lips lingering on her skin for a moment. Misty's breath caught in her throat. This was it, wasn't it? Their final goodbye. The tears that had formed in her eyes began to fall.

He walked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he went.

“Ash, wait!” she shouted. He never looked back—never hesitated. He kept on walking. It was no use. He was gone.

The tears began to flow more freely as she returned to the dance floor. She made to sneak away to the bathroom to cry it out without being seen, but she was unsuccessful. She felt someone catch her wrist as she tried to move past. She glanced up and saw that it was Rudy, concern plaguing his eyes. She stopped and he let her arm drop.

“What's the matter, Misty? Why are you crying?”

“It's nothing. Rudy forget about it—”

“It's that Ash Ketchum, isn't it? I saw you two dancing earlier,” Rudy said, crossing his arms. “What did he say to you?”

“Nothing, Rudy. It’s fine.”

“If he said something to hurt you, I’m going to kill him.”

“Rudy, don’t be ridiculous—”

“I knew that guy was nothing but trouble from the moment he kept calling here asking for you years ago.”

She stared at him, wide-eyed. “What are you talking about Rudy?”

“Uhhh…”

“What-are-you-talking-about?” She demanded through gritted teeth.

He said nothing, realizing his fatal error. He had never told her about all of the phone calls from an enthusiastic, but horribly oblivious raven-haired sixteen-year-old. He hadn't told her because well, he was very obviously jealous of this carefree raven-haired trainer.

“I can't believe you!” She shouted at him.

“Misty, I'm sorry—”

“How long?”

“Huh?”

“How long was he calling and you never told me?”

“I don't know. Maybe a couple of years before the asshole got the message and gave up.”

“Rudy!”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Two years?”

“I'm sorry. I was jealous and an idiot, okay? It's quite clear that he's always been smitten with you, even if you both couldn't see it.”

Misty stared at him in stunned silence. How could he have done this to her? Her heart sunk. She had grossly misjudged Ash. He had been trying to be in her life all along. Rudy had sabotaged her friendship with him. What kind of guy does that?

“I need some space.”

“Misty—”

“No,” she said firmly. “I am going for a walk to clear my head. You better not follow me or you can forget the wedding tomorrow. It's going to take a lot for me to forgive you for this.”

She stormed off towards the woods never looking back. She clenched her fists, her manicured nails digging into her skin. Hot tears spilled over and onto her face. How could he have done this to her? What he did was inexcusable, and should have been unforgivable. However—

Misty sighed as she came to a ravine. She kicked a rock into the water. It fell in with a plop. She fell to the ground, not caring if her dress got dirty. She inspected her toe, which got scraped when she had decided to kick that rock. It was only bleeding slightly. She bent over and dipped her hands into the water. She cupped her hands into it and poured the water over her throbbing toe, providing some temporary relief.

She wiped her runny nose with her wrist. She leaned over and cupped water into her hands once more. She splashed it across her face, relishing the coolness it brought to her cheeks. She understood why he did it. He was jealous of Ash and of the connection they had shared as kids. But he didn't have to drive him away from her life like that! He should have known that she had stayed on Trovita for him. She had made that choice more than a decade ago.

 _But had his fears been unwarranted?_ She had done exactly what he had feared years ago, days before their wedding, in fact. Was she any better than him, betraying him and hurting not one, but two men in the process? Her stomach clenched. No, perhaps she wasn't. Maybe they deserved each other then.

What could she do then? Ash was probably gone—a lost cause. If she called off the wedding, she would break Rudy's heart, and for what? She would be alone. She shuttered. She had never been alone in her life. She wouldn't even know how to cope with all of that.

There was only one thing that she could do. She would get married to Rudy. There was nothing else she could do at this point. They would get married and work through this. They had gotten through tough times before; they could get through this, right?

She picked herself off the ground and brushed the dirt off of her dress. She walked back toward the cottage, firm in her resolve. She could see the party still going on in the distance. No one seemed to notice her absence. She thought about heading back, but decided against it in the end. She needed to just get to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

She reached the cottage, surprised to see Daisy and Brock chatting in front of the main door. They turned to face her as soon as she approached. Daisy looked at her with a certain softness in her eyes. Had they been waiting for her this entire time?

“You okay, baby sis?” Daisy asked tentatively.

“Yeah, fine,” Misty muttered.

“Rudy was looking for you.”

“Well I'm not looking for him,” she huffed.

“Misty—”

“Just let him know that I'll see him tomorrow at the altar. Can you do that for me?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Daisy strolled away in the direction of the party. At least she didn't have to face Rudy again that night. She needed the space away from him. At least for one night. One night to clear her head and walk towards the path that life had for her.

Brock was still there, teetering on his heels. What was he doing there anyway? She got why Daisy had been waiting for her, but why Brock? What did he need? _Probably to let me know that Ash flew away on one of his Pokemon and never wants to see me again,_ she thought bitterly.

Brock cleared his throat, causing her to jump.

“About Ash,” he said.

“He's gone already, isn't he?”

“Well,” Brock replied, shrugging his shoulders. “Not _exactly._ He's back at the gym right now...but he is leaving on the first ferry tomorrow.”

“I see.”

“Quite a mess you've made, huh?”

“Would you lay off, Brock. This isn't easy for me either.”

“Anyhoo,” Brock replied. “He wanted me to give you something on his behalf.”

Misty watched curiously as Brock disappeared to the backside of her house. After a minute or so, he re-emerged leading a red bicycle. Attached to the front was a bow made from golden ribbon.

Her breath caught in her throat. He didn't, did he? There was no way. There was no possible way that he had remembered after all this time. She stared at it, mouth agape, as Brock parked it, pulled out the kickstand with his foot and letting it lean against it.

“Your wedding gift,” Brock said curtly.

“Ash, you wonderful idiot,” she whispered, choking back tears. He did remember after all. She wasn't dreaming.

It had been her bike that had started it all. He had destroyed her first one—burnt it to a crisp. At that point forward, she had been determined to follow him around until he paid her back. Eventually, their travels ended up here, and she chose to stay with Rudy. The bike had been forgotten.

Apparently, Ash had remembered it all along.

“There's a note,” Brock said, handing it over to Misty.

She took it gingerly in her hands. The word 'Misty’ was written in sloppy handwriting that could only be Ash's. She slid a finger into the corner of the seal. Her finger glided across in a 'v’ shape to the other side, ripping the paper in the process. She reached in and pulled out a letter written on heavy stationary. She unfolded it, revealing more of Ash's messy handwriting.

_Mist,_

Misty inhaled sharply at the sight of her nickname.

_When I started my Pokemon journey all those years ago, I never expected to meet anyone quite like you. You saved my life (and Pikachu's) that day, but you have done so much more than that. You taught me how to have a cooler head, about strategy, and most importantly—that there is more to life than Pokemon. I would not have made it to wherever I am today if it weren't for your guidance in the beginning. I owe everything to you._

_I had this plan to make this grand gesture, but I realized that you chose your path long ago, and doing that would only be selfish on my behalf. So here is my repayment to you, no strings attached. I should have done this years ago, but I guess I've always been a little late to the party, especially when it comes to my feelings for you. I love you with all of my heart. I always have, and I always will. I hope that someday when this all dies down, we can be friends again. Either way, I wish you a lifetime of health and happiness._

_-Ash_

She looked up from the letter, her hands shaking

“Brock, what have I done?”


	14. Misty's Choice

 

        The sun rose quickly the next morning, burning Misty's retinas as she lay in her bed motionless. It was empty aside from her. She and Rudy had agreed months ago not to see each other until the wedding. Misty wasn't sure if this was actually a good thing now. The next time she would see him would be when they were about to say their 'I do's. Would she be able to view him without fury seeping through her cracks? She wasn't so certain.

        She lifted her body into a sitting position, her hair plastered to the side of her head. She started raking her fingers through the matted mess as she began to think. Did she want to go through with this after all? She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. Her sisters would be up to her room to help her get dressed soon. She glanced over at the shimmer of white hanging at the end of the closet. The knot in her stomach got tighter.

        She dragged herself out of bed, every muscle in her body aching. She stretched for a few minutes, hoping that that would get some of the knots out. It was only one restless night, but she got up feeling like she had sprinted a marathon. She was going to need an IV of coffee to get through her day.

        She snatched a blue towel from the back of her vanity chair and walked out of her room and into the bathroom. She stripped off her sweaty clothes. The cool air felt good against her bare skin.

        She turned the nozzle and warm water began to stream out of the shower head. She let it run for a minute before stepping in, allowing the steam to begin to build in the room. She stepped into the jet stream of water with a sigh. That was more like it.

        Thoughts of Ash kept popping in her mind as she was shampooing her hair. How could she have been so stupid? She should have known that he hadn't stopped calling on purpose or even had forgotten. She should have known better. Ash was not like that. Sure, he was often busy with training, but he had never forgotten before the calls stopped. Why would that have changed? She felt like an idiot.

        What could she do though? It was too late. He was about to step onto a boat and sail out of her life forever. There was nothing she could do about it, hours before her wedding. She couldn't change her course now. Everything had been paid for. The guests were all here. To call off the wedding now would be cruel. It would leave Rudy in the most precarious position.

       She was running out of time. The sand had almost completely fallen through the top of her hourglass, suffocating her. This was it.

        Ash was an old dream. It was sailing away toward the horizon. She would have to accept that they were not meant to be.

        She shut off the faucet, standing in the tub for a moment to let some of the water drip off her before grabbing a towel. She dried off her body with towel, feeling the rough terry cloth drag across her skin. She wrapped the towel around her body, and walked back out and into her room across the hall.

        She was mid-way through drying her hair when her sisters started filing in, already dressed in their bridesmaid dresses, makeup and hair perfectly in place. Daisy was the first to arrive. She gently grabbed the hair dryer from Misty's hand and took over. Misty made no objections, her mind too caught in the storm of her emotions to really care. Lily and Violet stormed in just after her hair was fully dry.

        They had Misty get into her wedding dress first, helping to button every button and tie up every ribbon. She put her hand up to throat as they did it. The lump in it would not go away regardless of the numerous times she tried to swallow. It felt like the dress was trying to suffocate her.

        Mahri came in to check on them, dressed in a bridesmaid dress as well. She closed the door behind her, apologizing profusely for taking too long. Misty's sisters told her it was fine. They had everything under control anyway. Mahri sat down on the bed while they finished lacing up the dress.

        Daisy made her sit down at her vanity. Misty was careful to sit down in a way that wouldn't disturb the gown. Violet held out a thin bathrobe behind her. Misty slipped her arms in and tied the sash around her waist. Violet made sure that all over her hair was gathered and pulled out of the robe before they got started with her hair, Mahri included.

        They each had a curling iron and were working on a section. Misty's eyes fell on the power strip in which all four irons were plugged, dreading what it was going to do to her future electric bill. She looked back up, her eyes resting on the youngest in the room. She watched Mahri as she helped her sisters prepare her hair. Her soon-to-be-sister-in-law had become the younger sister that she had always wanted. To leave now would not only break Rudy's heart, it would devastate her as well. Her heart dropped. What kind of person would she be if she did that?

        It took a couple of hours to finish getting Misty ready for her wedding. They still had ninety minutes to leave and get to where the ceremony was to be held. It was plenty of time when one considered that part of the way was to be taken by motor boat. Misty glanced at the clock once more. Less than an hour until the first ferry of the day left port. She wondered if Ash was already aboard. She wondered if in a year from now if there would be another who would get to enjoy the taste of his lips, someone who wasn't as stupid as she.

        Once Lily had sprayed some setting spray on her face to keep the makeup in place, Misty slid her feet into her open toed shoes. They, along with her dangle earrings were her something blue. She fastened the straps around her bare ankles, slowly and deliberately. She would have given anything for time to slow down—anything to give her more time to think this through.

        She lifted her body off of the chair, allowing her body to become fully erect. Lily and Violet had snatched a couple of tissues and were crying. Daisy was beaming. Misty couldn't bear to look at them.

        She stepped in front of the full length mirror hanging on the front of her closet door. She looked at the redhead dressed up like a white frosted cupcake. She knew that she should have felt excited, but she wanted to vomit instead.

        “Ready, sis?” Daisy asked with a warm smile.

        “S-sure.”

        They all marched out of Misty's room and down the stairs in a sort of procession. Misty couldn't help but feel as if she were walking on death row. Was this really to be her fate?

        They exited the cottage and headed towards the river where they were going to take a boat most of the way to the ceremony. They went at a slow and steady pace, for all of the women were wearing heels. Misty still couldn't shake the impending sense of doom that loomed over her.

        After a walk through the meadow behind the gym and through a patch of woods, they reached the two boats. Lily and Violet plopped into theirs without hesitation. They started the engine, waiting for the others to settle into theirs. The engine idled, the low rumble buzzing in Misty's ears.

        She stared at the boat. To her, it was more like a hearse. This wasn't a wedding; it was a funeral—hers.

        What was she doing? Rudy wasn't the one she _really_ wanted, was he? He just happened to be there saying all of the things that she had wished Ash would have told her. Hadn't it always been Ash all along? What was she doing, letting the love of her life get away?

        She couldn't so this. She had to sail back to shore. She was drowning in the thought of marrying Rudy. She was sinking further down into the ocean of despair. Would she ever break through?

        She couldn't breathe. She was suffocating under all of this pressure. She clutched her chest, hyperventilating. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she gasped for breath, fighting to regulate her breathing again. Daisy turned, alarmed. She rushed to her side, her other sisters and Mahri watching on.

        “Are you okay?” Daisy asked, holding onto her hand as Misty doubled over.

She had to break free. She could do it. She had to do it. Her life depended on it.

Her breathing eventually began to slow once more. Relief washed over her. She had forgotten how much her lungs like the taste of air.

         “Daisy, I c-can't do this,” she said once her breathing came back to completely normal.

        “What are you talking about, Misty. Of course you can do this. It's just a bit of cold feet.”

        “No,” she muttered. “I-I can't.”

        A moment of silence fell between them. Daisy exhaled deeply, rubbing her fingers against her temples. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

        “You can't do this,” Daisy said. It wasn’t a question.

        Misty whipped her head in Daisy's direction. She stood upright, Daisy mirroring her movements. There was a small smile on her sister’s face.

        “You might still have time,” Daisy said checking her watch. “You might want to run though.”

        “Daisy—”

      “Go! This is your one chance at like true love or whatever. Don't worry. We'll handle everything else.”

        “Thank you,” Misty said to Daisy before turning to a stunned and silent Mahri.

        “Mahri…I'm so sorry,” she said before grabbing the hem of her dress with both hands, turning around, and breaking out in a run back towards the sea.

        It wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, sprinting through a forest and then a meadow in heels, while wearing a thirty pound dress. It was heavy, and with the sun beating down on her as she tore up the grass, she was sweating within minutes of being out there. Her legs were screaming at her as she ran as hard as she could under the conditions. It wasn’t the same as swimming in a pool. Her knees and feet were screaming at her, but she didn’t care. She had to get to Ash before it was too late.

        Would it have been better to stop for a moment to remove her shoes? It might mean that she could run a little faster, but there was no guarantee. She didn’t have time to risk stopping. She already knew that she was going to be cutting it close. She had to try though. Ash was worth it. If only she had realized that much sooner…

        Misty picked up the pace a little once she saw the gym in the distance. She knew that she was going to feel it in her legs the next morning. She cringed as she struggled to get up the hill on the gym’s back side. She silently cursed at herself as her eyes began to water. She was really out of shape. Why did she let her training regiment slack a bit because of all that wedding nonsense? Had she changed for Rudy that much over the years? As her legs screamed at her to stop, it hit her—she had slowly been giving pieces of herself away over the years, not enough to notice at once, but before she knew it, she didn’t recognize herself any more. She wouldn’t have known it if it weren’t for Ash crashing back into her life. It was just another thing that she owed to him, she mused as she approached the gym.

        She stumbled as she rounded the corner, throwing her hand out against the building to keep her balance. She stopped for a second, catching her breath. She checked her watch. Only seven minutes to go, and she still had to pass her house before even getting to the beach, which was a few minutes from the gym itself. How the hell was she going to make it?

        She continued on, heading in the direction of the docks. She willed her legs to continue on, determined to not let them collapse beneath her. Six minutes. She could see the cottage in the distance. Maybe she could do it. There was still a chance.

        Five minutes. She was nearly to the path that led around the house and to the beach. Just a bit more and she would be there. Time was slipping away. She had to make it. She just had to. There was no other option now.

        Four minutes. A flash of red caught her eye as she passed by the white siding. She froze, turning to face what had grabbed her attention in a time like this. There it was. The bicycle. Ash’s final gift to her was going to be what brought her back to him. She might have a fighting chance now.

        Three minutes. She rushed to the bike, kicking the stand up with her heel. She struggled to push it to the path and swing her leg over it. She somehow managed to rest her butt on the seat with all of the fabric. She kicked off the ground and off she went.

        Two minutes. She pedaled furiously, picking up speed. She let her legs rest once she no longer got any resistance. She let momentum do its job as she continued to speed down the dirt path that led to the docks and the beach. She had to be careful to not go off the path once she reached it. The sand would stop her almost instantly. Luckily, the path continued on the left side of the beach and all the way down to the dock. The unfortunate thing was that it had always taken a bit longer to go that way.

        One minute. She was almost to the dock. The metal platform was within reach. The horn from the ferry went off in the background. It was about to leave any second. She pumped her legs harder in attempt to keep up her momentum. Was she going to make it?

        Eleven o’clock. The boat was starting to pull away from the dock. She crossed over on the metal. She bike continued to vibrate as she traveled down the platform. The ferry was pulling further and further away from the dock. Her pulse quickened. It was going to be close.

        Misty squeezed her hands on the breaks. The bike skidded to a stop. She dropped it. It hit the platform with a loud clang. She rushed to get out from under it and continued to run to the end of the dock, the hem of her dress dragging. It was almost completely in the open sea. She reached the end of the dock with only one thing to do.

            She took a running leap, arms outstretched.


	15. The Red String of Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! It's been so fun to write, and I will miss it, but I'm excited for the opportunity to be able to work on some of my other stories. I appreciate all the support that this story has had and hope that this is a satisfying ending!
> 
> Enjoy the final chapter!
> 
> Sarah

 

            Ash leaned over the rail, watching the waves chop against the side of the boat as they moved away from the island. He sighed, resting his head into his folded arms. His thoughts drifted back to the tomboyish mermaid. She was probably a married woman at this point, and he—well, he was alone.

            It was getting to be hot in the suit he had purchased only a few days prior. He had honestly considered it—going to the wedding in the end. He had been a masochist that morning—wanting to watch the love of his life marry someone else. He had even gotten ready and everything. He had no idea what he had been thinking.

            In the end, he chickened out. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t watch her go. It was too painful, and by the time he had made his final decision, it was almost time for the ferry to leave, so he never had time to change back into normal clothes. He would change at a Pokemon Center as soon as he reached the main island. Then he’d have to find a hotel somewhere for the night before his flight in the morning. There was so much to do, and all he felt like in that moment was crawling in a hole and dying. Everything about this situation just sucked. It was as simple as that.

“I don't know, Pikachu,” he said to his yellow companion. “Maybe I should do what Brock does. Hit on every woman that I see. One of them should eventually want me, statistically speaking, I mean.”

“Pikachupi ka chu pi.”

“Okay, maybe not.”

Pikachu didn't reply. He was standing on the deck, below Ash's line of vision. After nothing but silence, Ash peered down at his Pokemon. Pikachu was staring at something down towards the other end of the deck. Ash bent down and waved his hand in front of his face. Nothing. It was almost as if he were stunned by something.

Ash turned his head to try to see what Pikachu was seeing. His breath caught in his throat. He saw Misty standing about twenty feet behind him in front of the back rail, panting and clutching her chest.

He had to be dreaming. There was no way that she could have been there, standing before him, an angel in white, her beauty captivating him. What was she doing here? Shouldn't she be at some cliff right now saying “I do?”

She hadn't seen him yet. She was too preoccupied trying to catch her breath. That had been close. Somehow she had made it over that railing. One slip and she would have been in the ocean where she would have surely drowned. Her dress would be much too heavy to swim in, and she doubted that she would have had the strength to even swim at that point. Running had wiped out all of her energy. Besides, she hadn't been planning on doing a triathlon today anyway.

Her breathing improved as she managed to get it to slow for the second time that day. Ash took a few steps toward her, unable to believe his eyes. Pikachu remained rooted on the spot.

            She looked up and saw him. Ash. He was there in front of her. He stared at her face as he took a couple of steps more. He was there, truly there. She had not let him go. She had made it.

She went to walk towards him, but tripped over the hem of her gown in the process. She stumbled, throwing her arms out to catch herself as she fell forward. Ash rushed to her, catching her in his arms.

She tipped her head, gazing into those chocolate eyes. Tears began to form in her own. She had thought that she was never going to see them again.

He looked down at the beautiful red-head. He couldn't fathom this moment. She was here, truly here. She was in his arms. He would never let go this time.

He swooped down and planted his lips against hers. Rules be damned. He loved this woman and he was going to kiss her like he would never get the chance again. Every time he would kiss her like this. He never knew when the last time would be.

This. This is what real love felt like. How had it taken so long to know this? Misty pushed it out of her mind as she reciprocated the kiss. There was no time to worry about that. There were more important things to be doing in that moment, like kissing the love of her life.

They continued their dance of lips and tongues before Misty realized that she desperately needed air. She didn't want to stop, but her lungs could not take any more abuse that day. They had had enough. She broke off, gently pushing him back and gasping for breath.

There was a long silence before either of them spoke.

            “Misty, what are you doing here?”

            “It’s you, Ash. It’s always been you. All those things that Rudy had always been saying to me were the words I wanted to hear from you.”

He inhaled sharply. She wanted him. _Now_ he was sure that he was dreaming. He gazed into her expecting eyes, and he knew. There was never going to be anyone else he wanted.

            “Marry me.”

            “W-wha-what?”

            “I want to get married.”

            “Ash, don't you think that's a bit going too far? We only reconnected a week ago, and we should date you know. Take it a bit slow, don't you think?”

            “No,” he said, tipping her chin up with his hand. His eyes blazed with an intensity that she had never seen. “I don't want to just date. I already know that I want forever with you. I've already waited over a decade for you to come back to me. I don't want to wait minute more.”

            Her heart would not stop hammering in her ears. He was serious about this, wasn't he?

            “And besides,” he added. “We're already dressed for the occasion.”

“Ash, how are we do it right now away? I don't see any priests running around, do you?”

“Maybe not,” he replied. “But this ferry has a captain, and captains can legally marry people at sea.”

“I-It's so soon.”

“Well, while you're figuring this all out, I'm going to go fetch the captain.”

“What?”

“C'mon Pikachu!”

“Pika!”

“Ash, wait!” she shouted as he started to run off.

“Don't worry!” He called back. “There's no way you could say no to me now.”

She watched him rush off, her heart racing. This was crazy. They couldn't just get married now. They had to go on dates, maybe try living together first before even considering such a thing. This would never work.

Or could it? She put her fingers up to her lips. They had had at least one date, and that had gone well enough. She had felt more from that one date than too many to count with Rudy. Not to mention, they had spent many months living together, though it was when they were kids and that home was primarily the woods. Still, if they could handle that without killing each other, maybe they could handle domestic life. What was she saying? This was still a crazy notion. Did she want to really become Mrs. Ash Ketchum?

As she stood there, the balmy breeze blowing on her face, a moment of clarity hit her. Why else would she run out on her actual wedding to be with someone? She didn't want just for now with him, she wanted forever.

Ash and Pikachu returned with a portly man wearing a captain's uniform and hat. He was wearing a warm smile behind his snow white beard and mustache. Misty glanced at Ash. He looked like he might be sick. Misty inhaled sharply.

“Okay,” she said. “Let's do this.”

“Really?” Ash's eyes lit up. The captain raised his eyebrow at the two.

“Yes,” she said with a laugh, grabbing both of his hands and clasping onto them. “Besides, like you said, I'm already dressed for the occasion.”

Misty turned her head at the captain, looking at him expectantly. Ash followed suit.

The captain's brow furrowed. “Hey, aren't you Rudy's fiancée?”

“You must have me mistaken with someone else,” Misty replied, not missing a beat.

“My apologizes miss,” he said with a chuckle. “All right. Let's get started then.

“We gather here today to bring these two individuals together in the union of holy matrimony. It is a union built on mutual respect, trust, and love. A union that will remain for all eternity.

“Now if you two would please state your vows—”

“Oh we didn't have anything pre—”

“Hang on Mist,” Ash cut her off.

She turned back to him. He stared directly into her eyes. A shiver ran through her spine.

“Mist,” he began. “I never thought I would find anyone like you. From the moment you pulled me from the water, you became a very important part of my life. I'm so sorry it took me this long to figure out just how important you really are.

But here we are now, and I relish my chance to spend the rest of forever with you because I love you, and I'm going to be spending my whole life showing you how much I do.”

“Ash—” Misty muttered as a few tears spilled out from her eyes.

Ash rummaged in his pockets, extracting a pink handkerchief. He handed it over to Misty, who took it gingerly. She dabbed her eyes before handing it back to him. He shoved it back to his pocket, never taking his eyes off of her.

“Ash,” she started. “I didn't know that you were going to come into my life the way that you did, but I'm so glad you did. You've saved me as well, in more ways than one. The best thing that ever happened to me was fishing you out of that river. It was lucky that you destroyed my bike. It led me on the most wonderful journey—wonderful because I got to spend it with you. I love you, Ash, and I can't wait for the next one.”

Ash beamed at her. The captain cleared his throat.

“Now we'll continue with the rings.”

“We can skip that part,” Ash said.

“Well then,” the captain replied. “By the power vested in me by the great sea, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride.”

Ash wasted no time, swooping in and crashing his lips against hers. It was a kiss full of all the things you would imagine to be in one of true love. This was no different. Ash thought it was better than even becoming champion as he would happily tell that to anyone.

Misty was elated. She couldn't believe she had actually done this—ran off and married Ash instead. It was so unlike her current self and more like the one of the past. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins. She thought of Daisy and the others back on Trovita. She knew that she should have felt guilty about it, but she didn't care. This was where she belonged.

            It was the red string of fate that bound them together. No matter how far apart they were or how long it got, it would always there. Misty’s choice all those years ago didn’t matter in the end because no matter what, they were always going to find their way back to each other. They were meant to be—destined to walk the same path. He was her soul mate in each and every way. There was no doubt about it. She beamed at him once the kiss had been broken. He pressed his forehead against hers. Sometimes it takes being with the wrong person to realize who the right one is.


End file.
